Artemis II Heat Shield After Splashdown

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Official release

Source material from NASA. The wording below is the issuer’s statement.

US Navy

Shortly after NASA’s Artemis II mission splashed down on April 10, 2026, U.S. Navy divers captured underwater imagery of the Orion spacecraft’s heat shield. In the months after, the agency measured whether the thermal protection system effectively safeguarded the crew and Orion systems as the spacecraft reentered Earth’s atmosphere. This rigorous analysis confirmed that the heat shield performed as expected.

Learn how Orion’s heat shield was examined.

Image credit: US Navy

Release text attributed to NASA. Consult the official publication for any subsequent corrections or updates.