As NASA prepares to send astronauts to the moon as part of the upcoming Artemis 2 mission, the space agency still needs to resolve some lingering issues with its Orion capsule that could threaten the safety of the crew on board, according to a new report.
NASA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) released a report On Wednesday, the space agency’s readiness to send a crew aboard the Orion spacecraft in September 2025 was assessed. The report examined anomalies in the Spacecraft heat shield and other hardware components, all discovered after canceled Artemis-1 mission End of 2022.
“The Artemis I test flight revealed critical issues that must be addressed before the crew is deployed on the Artemis II mission,” the report said. “In particular, the test flight revealed anomalies in the Orion heat shield, isolation bolts and power distribution that pose significant risks to crew safety.”
The biggest problem concerns Orion’s heat shield. We have I’ve covered this topic before, but it’s really giving the space agency a big headache. During Orion’s re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere, the spacecraft reached a speed of 24,600 miles per hour (39,590 kilometers per hour) and its heat shield withstood temperatures of over 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit. That’s that fastest speed to which a spacecraft authorized to crew has returned to Earth.
Although NASA engineers had expected some charring to occur, the report revealed that the space agency identified more than 100 places where protective material from Orion’s heat shield unexpectedly flaked off during reentry.
“Parts of the carbon layer wore differently than NASA engineers predicted, cracking occurred, and the spacecraft broke off into fragments that left a trail of debris instead of melting as intended,” the report said. The inspector general added that the heat shield’s performance “poses a risk that the heat shield may not adequately protect the capsule’s systems and crew from the extreme heat of re-entry on future missions.”
NASA is working to solve the problem either by replacing heat shield components or by changing Orion’s re-entry orbit. The space agency announced this at the end of 2023 A solution to the heat shield problem is expected until late spring this year.
The report also addressed an issue with the crew capsule’s separation bolts, which revealed “unexpected melting and erosion that created a gap that resulted in increased heating inside the bolt.” NASA mitigated the problem by making minor changes to the separation bolt design and inserting additional thermal barrier material into the bolt gap.
After Artemis 1, NASA also recorded 24 cases of power distribution anomalies in Orion’s electrical power system. NASA determined that the power distribution problem was caused by radiation and is developing software changes for the Artemis-2 mission. However, the report warns that “without a permanent hardware repair, there is an increased risk that further power distribution anomalies could result in loss of redundancy, inadequate performance, and possible loss of vehicle propulsion and pressurization.”
NASA was none too pleased with the inspector general’s review and wrote a fairly succinct response to assure that the space agency was already responding to the recommendations outlined in the report. “A test in the middle of a development process presents several challenges, including disruptions to ongoing workflow and priorities,” the space agency wrote. “NASA is concerned that the tone of the report may indicate that the OIG has identified the risks discussed, even though all recommendations were already considered by NASA prior to review through a risk-based forward disposition.”
Okay, we hear you. NASA appears to have this under control.
Want to learn more about humanity’s next big leap into space? Check out our full coverage NASA’s Artemis Moon Programthe new Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraftThe recently completed Artemis-1 mission around the moon, the four-man Artemis 2 crew, NASA’s Artemis Moon suit and Axiomand what is to come Space station Lunar Gateway. And for more space travel in your life, keep following us X and bookmark Gizmodo’s dedicated Space travel page.