A report by the US space agency Office of Inspector General mentions serious problems with the heat shield and other hardware components discovered by the unmanned Artemis I mission in December 2022.

During deceleration in the Earth’s atmosphere, the Orion capsule’s heat shield broke in more than 100 places. This poses a serious risk to the crew, as the heat shield cannot reliably protect the spacecraft from excessive heat.

Additionally, NASA recorded 24 anomalies in electrical distribution in the Orion power system during Artemis I. Engineers determined that the problems were caused by radiation.

According to the report, anomalies in power distribution could potentially lead to loss of propulsion and sealing of the ship, again endangering the safety of the Orion capsule crew.

The detected problems will need to be corrected as soon as possible because there is not much time left for the launch of the Artemis II lunar mission, which is planned to be held at the end of 2025. NASA’s Office of Inspector General discovered problems with the Orion capsule’s heat shield during preparations for the Artemis II lunar mission that could compromise the safety of the crew.