Problems with the Orion spacecraft’s heat shield are jeopardizing the timing of the next lunar exploration mission under NASA’s Artemis program.

NASA’s lunar exploration program has faced major challenges en route to its next manned flight. The Artemis-2 mission, planned for 2025, is expected to return astronauts to lunar orbit, but a test flight of the unmanned Orion spacecraft as part of the Artemis-1 mission revealed a number of technical flaws that threaten the safety of future crews.

NASA’s Office of Inspector General released a report detailing these issues on May 1. The most serious of these concerns the thermal protection system of the Orion ship. More than 100 areas of insulation material showed excessive wear during reentry; Pieces of burnt material fell from the spacecraft, and some even temporarily stuck to the portholes, further obstructing the pilots’ vision.

In addition, inspectors found problems with the fastening of bolts and the distribution of electrical power on the ship. All these flaws can jeopardize the success and safety of the flight with astronauts.

The report also emphasizes that NASA has little time left to finalize and test the new systems, as the launch is planned for less than 2 years and any delay in the schedule negates the chances of meeting the given deadlines. .

All things considered, NASA’s lunar exploration program appears to be seriously faltering due to technical glitches that have emerged since the first test flight. The space agency has a big job ensuring the safety of astronauts in the next phase of the Artemis mission, otherwise the timeline for a man’s return to the lunar surface could be pushed back years once again. Source