Artemis 2 was a success in more ways than one. The mission, lasting just over nine days, demonstrated that the Orion spacecraft could safely support a crew on a trip around the moon. Orion made it through the flight with only minor technical problems, none of which would hinder its use on Artemis 3 next year. Even the heat shield, a cause of concern for some before the launch, survived reentry in much better shape than Artemis 1.

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Jeff Foust writes about space policy, commercial space, and related topics for SpaceNews. He earned a Ph.D. in planetary sciences from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a bachelor’s degree with honors in geophysics and planetary science...