If the question is referring to the Apollo missions, the Command Module (also known as the capsule) was the section that housed the astronauts and returned to Earth.
Compared to the Space Shuttle Orbiter, relatively very little of the Apollo spacecraft returned to earth. Typically, just the Command Module came back to earth. With Apollo 13, the Lunar Module came back to earth, as it was used as a lifeboat for the three astronauts, until just before reentry. Typically, the Lunar Module was left to crash into the moon after it was used. The only other Lunar Module that made it back to earth (to burn up in the atmosphere) was the one used on Apollo 9, which was a Low-Earth Orbit mission.
The orbiter would detach and land in the ocean shortly after take off.
The command module was the only part of the Apollo spacecraft to return to Earth. It was designed to re-enter the Earth's atmosphere, withstand the heat of re-entry, and splash down safely in the ocean.
The Earth's exosphere extends ~120,000 miles, so most Earth-orbiting spacecraft are in the exosphere. Spacecraft that go to other planets, the sun, Lagrange points and everything that leaves Earth's orbit is in space, which is not a part of Earth's atmosphere.
The astronauts will have to use the lunar module , to return from the moon, they join up with the command module. '''''INCORRECT''''' ---- The space craft is difted back by the gravitational pull of the earth.
The Command Module.
Compared to the Space Shuttle Orbiter, relatively very little of the Apollo spacecraft returned to earth. Typically, just the Command Module came back to earth. With Apollo 13, the Lunar Module came back to earth, as it was used as a lifeboat for the three astronauts, until just before reentry. Typically, the Lunar Module was left to crash into the moon after it was used. The only other Lunar Module that made it back to earth (to burn up in the atmosphere) was the one used on Apollo 9, which was a Low-Earth Orbit mission.
The orbiter would detach and land in the ocean shortly after take off.
The space shuttle.
The command module was the only part of the Apollo spacecraft to return to Earth. It was designed to re-enter the Earth's atmosphere, withstand the heat of re-entry, and splash down safely in the ocean.
The Earth's exosphere extends ~120,000 miles, so most Earth-orbiting spacecraft are in the exosphere. Spacecraft that go to other planets, the sun, Lagrange points and everything that leaves Earth's orbit is in space, which is not a part of Earth's atmosphere.
The astronauts will have to use the lunar module , to return from the moon, they join up with the command module. '''''INCORRECT''''' ---- The space craft is difted back by the gravitational pull of the earth.
The Apollo 11 command module, known as "Columbia," which returned to Earth, is on display at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. It is part of the museum's collection of space exploration artifacts.
Mercury Friendship 7 (John H. Glenn, USA) was the first spacecraft to orbit the Earth three times.
The heat shield is the part of the spacecraft that protects it from the high temperatures experienced during re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere. It is designed to withstand the intense heat generated by friction as the spacecraft re-enters the atmosphere at high speeds.
The lunar module consisted of two parts: the descent stage, which remained on the lunar surface, and the ascent stage, which carried the astronauts back to the command module orbiting the Moon. The ascent stage re-entered the Earth's atmosphere while the descent stage was left behind on the Moon.
The command module was the only part of the Apollo mission spacecraft that returned to Earth. It housed the astronauts and was designed to re-enter the Earth's atmosphere and splash down safely in the ocean.