It’s Time For The Scariest Part Of Artemis

Spaceflight is a lot like airplane travel in that the vast, vast majority of incidents happen on takeoff or landing. More things are happening; more things can go wrong. On liftoff and reentry, specifically, the pressure and heat are a crucible in which the flightworthiness of a spacecraft is violently tested. It's important to remember that this is why these preliminary Artemis missions exist: They are flight tests. But tonight's Earth return for Artemis II will be especially squeaky-bum time, given what happened to Artemis I's heat shield. After the uncrewed Artemis I splashed down safely in December 2022, NASA was surprised to discover significant damage to its heat shield, with big chunks missing: Artemis I's heat shield.