Large Heat Shield for Mars Science Laboratory
![The finished heat shield for NASA's Mars Science Laboratory, with a diameter of 4.5 meters (14 feet, 9 inches), is the largest ever built for descending through the atmosphere of any planet. This image shows the heat shield and a spacecraft worker at Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, which built and tested the heat shield.](https://science.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/536_MarsScienceLabHeatshield017a-full2.jpg?w=4096&format=jpeg)
Mars Science Lab Heatshield preparation at Lockheed Martin cleanroom in Denver, Colo. with Tom Byers.
Lockheed Martin
July 10, 2009
Credit | NASA/JPL-Caltech/Lockheed Martin |
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The finished heat shield for NASA's Mars Science Laboratory, with a diameter of 4.5 meters (14 feet, 9 inches), is the largest ever built for descending through the atmosphere of any planet. This image shows the heat shield and a spacecraft worker at Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, which built and tested the heat shield.