‘It’s 13 minutes of things that have to go right’: Artemis II splashes down despite faulty heat shield
- Posted on April 11, 2026
- By Fortune
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In brief
The Artemis II mission successfully completed its return to Earth despite encountering a damaged heat shield during reentry. The spacecraft navigated a critical 13-minute window where precise trajectory calculations and velocity management were essential for safe atmospheric entry. This challenging splashdown demonstrated NASA's ability to handle unexpected technical difficulties while maintaining crew safety, marking another milestone in lunar exploration missions.
‘It’s 13 minutes of things that have to go right’: Artemis II splashes down despite faulty heat shield
The crew aboard the Artemis II mission had only 13 minutes to get their angle and speed correctly in order to enter the earth's atmosphere.
