Submission + - Comparing Heat Shields: Mars Science Lab vs. SpaceX Dragon (pinehead.tv)
Sensors being added to the Mars Science Lab heat shield. Photo by NASA.
The thing people remember most about the heat shield is when it popped off the spacecraft and flung like a frisbee across the Martian landscape, landing with a plume of dust. Measuring nearly 15 ft (4.5 m) in diameter, the MSL heat shield was the largest to ever travel to another planet.