Sandia National Laboratories engineer Aaron Overacker, left, and NASA engineers Owen Nishioka, Keith Peterson and Milad Mahzari, cover the heat shield material after a December 2023 test at Sandia National Laboratories. This so that the material can cool in an oxygen-deprived environment.

NASA engineer Milad Mahzari documents the status of the heat shield material after a December 2023 test at Sandia National Laboratories.

Smoke billowing off NASA’s heat shield material during a recent test at Sandia National Laboratories’ National Solar Thermal Test Facility.

Jessica Harsono, right, a mechanical engineer at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, sets up the test article for mounting to Sandia National Laboratories’ Solar Tower fixture during a September 2022 test.

Sandia National Laboratories mechanical technologist Daniel Ray assesses the results of the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory heat shield test in September 2022.