The Orion capsule's heat shield was a big topic of discussion during the Artemis 2 moon mission, and for good reason: It was the key component of the spacecraft that kept the crew safe when they reentered Earth's atmosphere.
The trajectory the Artemis 2 astronauts flew when Orion returned was different from the path taken by the uncrewed Artemis 1 mission's Orion spacecraft in late 2022. Unexpectedly high degrees of charring on Orion's heat shield during that mission led engineers to alter the spacecraft's course to prevent a recurrence on Artemis 2, but, as is anything untested in space, there is always risk involved.
