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View of the heatshield through a missing piece of the Plexiglas covering the heatshield (visible at approximately the 8:00 position on the heatshield.

The charred portion of the heatshield has been worn away by untold numbers of visitors' fingers over the years (it appears that this section of Plexiglas has been missing since Gemini 9 was originally put on display). The virgin heatshield feels like waxy felt.

Picture 1 of 2.

Note the honeycomb structure of the heatshield.