For those who follow NASA’s human spaceflight program, when the Orion spacecraft’s heat shield cracked and chipped away during atmospheric reentry on the unpiloted Artemis I test flight in late 2022, ...

Orion's selfie with Earth and the Moon. Credit: NASA NASA's Orion spacecraft might have successfully traveled to the Moon and back, but its equipment wasn't fully stable throughout the journey. Now, ...

Two years ago next week, NASA’s Orion spacecraft splashed down in the Pacific Ocean to wrap up what, at first glance, seemed to be a highly successful unpiloted test flight that made a return to the ...

NASA is sending some astronauts on a little trek out of Earth's orbit and around the moon, which is just the start of its current plans to send crewed missions back to the lunar surface. This is an ...

The Artemis II astronauts are about to fall to Earth at the fastest speed humans have ever travelled inside a spacecraft with a compromised heat shield. But NASA remains confident they will be safe.

Technicians inspect the heat shield on the Orion capsule after Artemis 1. The heat shield lost most charred material than expected, but NASA managers said it was not a safety issue. Credit: NASA/Skip ...

The Artemis II astronauts are about to return from a record-setting trip around the moon, but is their Orion spacecraft's heat shield safe to bring them home? NASA and the astronauts say yes, but not ...