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File:Mars Science Laboratory Heat Shield PIA12117.jpg

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Summary

Description
English: 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.

The heat shield and the spacecraft's backshell together form an encapsulating aeroshell that will protect the mission's rover, Curiosity, from the intense heat and friction that will be generated as the flight system descends through the Martian atmosphere. The aeroshell has a steering capability produced by ejecting ballast that offsets the center of mass prior to entry into the atmosphere. This offset creates lift as it interacts with the thin Martian atmosphere and allows roll control and autonomous steering through the use of thrusters.

The Mars Science Laboratory is being assembled and tested for launch in the autumn of 2011. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, manages the mission.
Date
Source http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/spaceimages/details.php?id=PIA12117
Author NASA

Licensing

Public domain This file is in the public domain in the United States because it was solely created by NASA. NASA copyright policy states that "NASA material is not protected by copyright unless noted". (See Template:PD-USGov, NASA copyright policy page or JPL Image Use Policy.)
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3 September 2012

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