Uncrewed inaugural flight of the Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft around the Moon.
Artemis I was the inaugural flight of NASA's Space Launch System and the Orion spacecraft, launching on November 16, 2022 from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39B. The uncrewed mission served as an end-to-end test of the integrated SLS/Orion system before astronauts would fly on Artemis II.
During its 25.5-day mission, Orion traveled over 1.4 million miles, entering a distant retrograde orbit around the Moon and setting a new distance record for a spacecraft designed to carry humans — 268,563 miles from Earth. The spacecraft performed flawlessly in deep space, validating navigation, propulsion, power, and thermal control systems.
However, post-flight analysis revealed unexpected charring and erosion of Orion's AVCOAT heat shield during re-entry. Rather than ablating evenly as designed, sections of the heat shield material fractured and broke off. This discovery led to extensive investigation and ultimately delayed the crewed Artemis II mission by over two years while NASA developed fixes.
Validate the fully integrated SLS/Orion stack from launch through splashdown, proving every system before risking crew on Artemis II.
Test Orion's AVCOAT heat shield during re-entry at approximately 24,500 mph (Mach 32) — the fastest return from lunar distance for a capsule of this size.
Demonstrate autonomous and ground-controlled navigation over 1.4 million miles, including lunar orbit insertion and trans-Earth injection burns.
Measure radiation exposure inside the crew module using instrumented mannequins — Commander Moonikin Campos, Helga, and Zohar — wearing dosimeter sensors throughout the mission.
Test Orion's parachute deployment sequence and naval recovery procedures in the Pacific Ocean, validating the end-of-mission operations for future crewed flights.
The mission was an overwhelming success in proving SLS and Orion could fly to the Moon and back. Orion spent 25.5 days in space, completed a distant retrograde orbit, and splashed down precisely on target in the Pacific Ocean on December 11, 2022.
However, post-flight inspection revealed significant charring, cracking, and material loss on Orion's AVCOAT heat shield — the largest ever built at 16.5 ft diameter. Rather than ablating smoothly, sections of the heat shield material fractured during the Mach 32 re-entry. This anomaly triggered a multi-year investigation that delayed Artemis II from late 2024 to 2026 while engineers analyzed the root cause and redesigned the ablation approach.
Orion splashed down in the Pacific Ocean west of Baja California after a 25.5-day mission traveling over 1.4 million miles around the Moon and back, successfully testing systems for future crewed Artemis missions.
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