{"id":1408,"date":"2026-05-01T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-01T19:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/whattoseeinwashingtondc.com\/?p=1408"},"modified":"2026-05-01T10:24:38","modified_gmt":"2026-05-01T15:24:38","slug":"apollo-11-heat-shield-at-air-and-space","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/whattoseeinwashingtondc.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/01\/apollo-11-heat-shield-at-air-and-space\/","title":{"rendered":"The Hidden Secret of Apollo&#8217;s Heat Shield- Inside \u201cDestination Moon\u201d at the Air and Space Museum"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Imagine you&#8217;re hurtling back from the moon at 24,700 miles per hour. Your lunar mission milestones are accomplished. All that&#8217;s left is to safely return to Earth. As you hit Earth&#8217;s atmosphere, you watch a fireball of glowing plasma outside your window, blazing at 5,000 degrees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">How do you survive this re-entry without burning up like a marshmallow dropped in a bonfire?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1008\" height=\"1008\" src=\"https:\/\/whattoseeinwashingtondc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Screenshot_20260418-081125.jpg\" alt=\"Columbia reentry\" class=\"wp-image-1409\" style=\"width:610px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/whattoseeinwashingtondc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Screenshot_20260418-081125.jpg 1008w, https:\/\/whattoseeinwashingtondc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Screenshot_20260418-081125-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/whattoseeinwashingtondc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Screenshot_20260418-081125-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/whattoseeinwashingtondc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Screenshot_20260418-081125-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/whattoseeinwashingtondc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Screenshot_20260418-081125-370x370.jpg 370w, https:\/\/whattoseeinwashingtondc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Screenshot_20260418-081125-120x120.jpg 120w, https:\/\/whattoseeinwashingtondc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Screenshot_20260418-081125-840x840.jpg 840w, https:\/\/whattoseeinwashingtondc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Screenshot_20260418-081125-410x410.jpg 410w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1008px) 100vw, 1008px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/whattoseeinwashingtondc.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/08\/touch-the-moon-at-nasa-headquarters\/\">NASA <\/a>had to solve this problem for survivable space travel. Today, right here in the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, you can stand inches away from the ingenious solution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Apollo 11&#8217;s command module Columbia shows her scars and scorch marks in a glowing glass box. The honeycomb matrix along the bottom contains a hand-filled ablative compound designed to burn and char. The char layer becomes an incredible insulator, protecting the material underneath.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"753\" src=\"https:\/\/whattoseeinwashingtondc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/PXL_20221006_145404546-1.jpg\" alt=\"Apollo 11 command module\" class=\"wp-image-1410\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.3280632411067195;width:646px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/whattoseeinwashingtondc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/PXL_20221006_145404546-1.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/whattoseeinwashingtondc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/PXL_20221006_145404546-1-300x226.jpg 300w, https:\/\/whattoseeinwashingtondc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/PXL_20221006_145404546-1-768x578.jpg 768w, https:\/\/whattoseeinwashingtondc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/PXL_20221006_145404546-1-370x279.jpg 370w, https:\/\/whattoseeinwashingtondc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/PXL_20221006_145404546-1-840x633.jpg 840w, https:\/\/whattoseeinwashingtondc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/PXL_20221006_145404546-1-410x309.jpg 410w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Columbia didn&#8217;t just survive the hottest, fastest trip imaginable; it was engineered to. Ingenuity turned an impossible problem into one of the greatest success stories in history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And it brought Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins safely back to planet Earth and to their families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>See Columbia in \u201cDestination Moon\u201d, Gallery 206, 2nd floor of the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Free passes are required. <a href=\"https:\/\/tickets.si.edu\/airandspace\/events\/6d1e05f3-10d1-78d0-60aa-bf3b24f4bdb8?tg=5fa3003d-17e5-edf1-0d69-4a9d37c0de63\">Reserve yours here<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Interested in more DC stories and places to take your homeschool family to? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!-- Begin Mailchimp Signup Form -->\n<link href=\"\/\/cdn-images.mailchimp.com\/embedcode\/classic-10_7_dtp.css\" rel=\"stylesheet\" type=\"text\/css\">\n<style type=\"text\/css\">\n\t#mc_embed_signup{background:#fff; clear:left; font:14px Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; }\n\t\/* Add your own Mailchimp form style overrides in your site stylesheet or in this style block.\n\t   We recommend moving this block and the preceding CSS link to the HEAD of your HTML file. *\/\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"mc_embed_signup\">\n<form action=\"https:\/\/whattoseeinwashingtondc.us7.list-manage.com\/subscribe\/post?u=9d9c8c82e79c5e80350e59414&amp;id=f3f7467c15\" method=\"post\" id=\"mc-embedded-subscribe-form\" name=\"mc-embedded-subscribe-form\" class=\"validate\" target=\"_blank\" novalidate>\n    <div id=\"mc_embed_signup_scroll\">\n\t<h2>Subscribe<\/h2>\n<div class=\"indicates-required\"><span class=\"asterisk\">*<\/span> indicates required<\/div>\n<div class=\"mc-field-group\">\n\t<label for=\"mce-EMAIL\">Email Address  <span class=\"asterisk\">*<\/span>\n<\/label>\n\t<input type=\"email\" value=\"\" name=\"EMAIL\" class=\"required email\" id=\"mce-EMAIL\">\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"mc-field-group\">\n\t<label for=\"mce-FNAME\">First Name  <span class=\"asterisk\">*<\/span>\n<\/label>\n\t<input type=\"text\" value=\"\" name=\"FNAME\" class=\"required\" id=\"mce-FNAME\">\n<\/div>\n\t<div id=\"mce-responses\" class=\"clear foot\">\n\t\t<div class=\"response\" id=\"mce-error-response\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"response\" id=\"mce-success-response\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div>\n\t<\/div>    <!-- real people should not fill this in and expect good things - do not remove this or risk form bot signups-->\n    <div style=\"position: absolute; left: -5000px;\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><input type=\"text\" name=\"b_9d9c8c82e79c5e80350e59414_f3f7467c15\" tabindex=\"-1\" value=\"\"><\/div>\n        <div class=\"optionalParent\">\n            <div class=\"clear foot\">\n                <input type=\"submit\" value=\"Subscribe\" name=\"subscribe\" id=\"mc-embedded-subscribe\" class=\"button\">\n                <p class=\"brandingLogo\"><a href=\"http:\/\/eepurl.com\/hU8aY9\" title=\"Mailchimp - email marketing made easy and fun\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/eep.io\/mc-cdn-images\/template_images\/branding_logo_text_dark_dtp.svg\"><\/a><\/p>\n            <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<\/form>\n<\/div>\n<script type='text\/javascript' src='\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/downloads.mailchimp.com\/js\/mc-validate.js'><\/script><script type='text\/javascript'>(function($) {window.fnames = new Array(); window.ftypes = new Array();fnames[0]='EMAIL';ftypes[0]='email';fnames[1]='FNAME';ftypes[1]='text';}(jQuery));var $mcj = jQuery.noConflict(true);<\/script>\n<!--End mc_embed_signup-->\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Imagine you&#8217;re hurtling back from the moon at 24,700 miles per hour. Your lunar mission milestones are accomplished. All that&#8217;s left is to safely return to Earth. As you hit&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1409,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[125],"tags":[8,297,327,328,280,75],"class_list":["post-1408","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exhibit","tag-air-and-space-museum","tag-apollo-11","tag-columbia","tag-command-module","tag-space","tag-what-to-see-in-washington-dc"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The Hidden Secret of Apollo&#039;s Heat Shield- Inside \u201cDestination Moon\u201d at the Air and Space Museum - What To See In Washington DC<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/whattoseeinwashingtondc.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/01\/apollo-11-heat-shield-at-air-and-space\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Hidden Secret of Apollo&#039;s Heat Shield- Inside \u201cDestination Moon\u201d at the Air and Space Museum - What To See In Washington DC\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Imagine you&#8217;re hurtling back from the moon at 24,700 miles per hour. 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