Bedzie nalezala do ladownika marsjanskiego MSL. Jest wlasnie na ukonczeniu.
Niestety, to prototyp, choc materialowo wczesniej uzyty podczas misji
Stardust - wszystkie inne oslony byly mniejsze, nawet te od statkow Apollo:
---
The aeroshell/heatshield is the largest ever built to be flown at 4.5 meters
(nearly 15 feet) in diameter. In contrast, the aeroshells/heatshields of the
Spirit and Opportunity Mars Exploration Rovers measured 8.5 feet and Apollo
capsule heatshields measured just less than 13 feet.
Because of the unique entry trajectory profile that could create external
temperatures up to 3,800 degrees Fahrenheit, the heatshield uses a tiled
Phenolic Impregnated Carbon Ablator (PICA) thermal protection system instead
of the Mars heritage Super Lightweight Ablator (SLA) 561V. This will be the
first time PICA has flown on a Mars mission. Invented by NASA Ames Research
Center, PICA was first flown as the thermal protection system on the
heatshield of the Stardust Sample Return Capsule that is now in the
Smithsonian Air and Space Museum.

"The Mars Science Laboratory aeroshell is the most complex capsule to fly to
Mars," said Rich Hund, MSL program manager at Lockheed Martin Space Systems
Company. "The design had to address the large size and weight of the rover,
the largest ever sent to Mars, and the requirement for landing at a
more-precise point on Mars."

http://www.physorg.com/news166454521.html
---