Is NASA's Artemis II safe? Scientists raise concerns about heat shield

"'During the final phase of the Artemis II mission, there's no backup, no contingency, and no chance of escape. The four astronauts on board will be depending on a few inches of resin-coated silica to shield themselves from temperatures approaching half that of the surface of the Sun.'"

"'Instead of burning away evenly over the whole surface, parts of the Artemis I heat shield were lost unexpectedly in uneven chunks. This uneven ablation makes modelling the thermal loads of re-entry more unpredictable, and raises the possibility that the Orion capsule could be exposed to dangerous levels of heating.'"

Safety concerns have emerged regarding the Orion capsule's heat shield ahead of the Artemis II mission, scheduled for launch on April 1. The mission will involve four astronauts traveling to the moon aboard the Orion capsule. Ed Macaulay, a lecturer in Physics, expressed fears about the heat shield's integrity, noting that during Artemis I, significant material loss occurred. This could expose the crew to dangerously high temperatures during re-entry, as there are no contingencies in place. The heat shield material, Avcoat, showed unexpected damage, complicating thermal load predictions.

Read at Mail Online