Artemis II Faces Fiery Re-entry: How Heat Shields Save the Crew

Artemis II’s return from its lunar mission will be a high-speed, multi-minute re-entry at over 11 km/s, with air temperatures near 10,000°C. The Orion capsule relies on an AVCOAT ablative heat shield and lift-assisted entry to keep g-forces manageable and maintain a safe descent, while a radio blackout occurs during peak heating. NASA tweaked the trajectory to avoid the “skip” risk seen in Artemis I, and the crew will splash down in the Pacific after a record 406,771 km from Earth.