It turns out that Orion's much-maligned heat shield performed really well
During the Artemis II mission, the ablation thermal protection shield used at the bottom of the spacecraft performed excellently during reentry into Earth's atmosphere. However, a large piece of this shield accidentally detached during a test flight at the end of 2022, causing controversy. After that incident, NASA decided to carry it along as originally designed and modify the spacecraft's reentry trajectory. The Artemis II crew, led by Commander Red Warmer, safely splashed down in the Pacific Ocean after completing their lunar orbit mission. After the mission ended, the crew members and other NASA officials reported that the thermal protection shield remained in good condition.