This is a picture of central Texas from Apollo 9.
This picture was taken by Apollo 9 Astronauts. Interstate 35 can be seen on the right side of the picture. You can also clearly see many rivers (and even dams) in the picture, which make up the landscape of Texas. Apollo 9 was only an Earth orbit mission. It was designed to test operations that would be required to land on the moon in future missions. [1] [2]
Reentering the atmosphere is tough and requires complicated tools. The shuttle can nearly reach 25 times the speed of sound. This is fast enough to break all chemical bonds in air and turn it into electrically charged plasma. To avoid the effects of this the shuttle needs a thermal protection. Over much of the shuttle silicon is used, but on the wings a carbon composite material has to be used. The Russians used shield made out of ceramic that was meant to burn away as it entered the atmosphere and blow safely away. [3]