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.
Mars Science Lab Heatshield preparation at Lockheed Martin cleanroom in Denver, Colo. with Tom Byers.
Lockheed Martin
July 10, 2009
CreditNASA/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.

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