Atmospheric entry
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Atmospheric entry is the movement of an object from outer space into and through the gases of an atmosphere of a planet, dwarf planet, or natural satellite. Atmospheric entry may be uncontrolled entry
Mars Exploration Rover (MER) aeroshell, artistic rendition
Apollo command module flying with the blunt end of the heat shield at a non-zero angle of attack in order to establish a lifting entry and control the landing site (artistic rendition)
Prototype of the Mk-2 Reentry Vehicle (RV), based on blunt body theory
Mk-6 RV, Cold War weapon and ancestor to most of the U.S. missile entry vehicles
Heat shield
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In engineering, a heat shield is a component designed to protect an object or a human operator from being burnt or overheated by dissipating, reflecting, and/or absorbing heat. The term is most often
Atmospheric entry
…or both factors complicate high-velocity hyperbolic entry, such as the atmospheres of Venus, Titan and the giant planets. The concept of the ablative heat shield was described as early as 1920 by Robert Goddard: "In the case of meteors, which enter the atmosphere with speeds as high as 30 miles (48 km) per second…
The finished heat shield for NASA's Mars Science Laboratory, with a diameter of 4.5 meters (14 feet, 9 inches)
An example of a steel heat shield on a BMW E series engine
An example of an aluminum heat shield on the Toyota Celica ST205
Apollo 12 capsule's ablative heat shield (after use) on display at the Virginia Air and Space Center