Artemis II Descent and Landing: A Preliminary Performance Assessment of the Orion Parachute System

The Artemis II mission, which sent four NASA astronauts to the vicinity of the Moon for the first time in over 50 years, ended with a safe touchdown in the Pacific Ocean courtesy of a series of 11 parachutes. An initial assessment of the Orion parachute system during the mission can be performed with preliminary air-to-air imagery captured during the descent and landing. Due to both planned and unplanned nonrecovery of jettisoned parachute hardware, as well as the absence of individual riser load measurements, analysis will rely heavily on high-resolution imagery. Interrogation of this imagery can provide insight into not only parachute performance, but also into important Entry, Descent, and Landing (EDL) triggers and actions. While the terminal performance of the system appears nominal and consistent with previous drop test and missions, anomalies related to vehicle debris liberation and parachute reefing are apparent.