New record for deploying a test Martian parachute

New record for deploying a test Martian parachute

A high-resolution NASA snapshot demonstrates the final supersonic parachute test for the NASA Mars 2020 rover. Testing conducted during the launch of a suborbital rocket September 7, 2018, to simulate the conditions of landing on Mars

NASA is preparing technology for use in the future mission of Mars 2020 on the descent of the rover on the Red Planet in February 2021. In this process, managed to break world records.

Landing on Mars is extremely difficult because of the thin atmosphere of the planet, which prevents braking and deceleration of the spacecraft at the time of descent and landing. In order to lower the heaviest rover onto the Red Planet, NASA had to design a parachute (which lowered Curiosity) with even more durable materials, including Kevlar (it is traditionally used in body armor).

New record for deploying a test Martian parachute

The second stage of the probing rocket that delivered the ASPIRE parachute test on September 7, 2018

The Agency conducted a final test of a new parachute in September as part of an experimental test of the mechanism’s operation during a future descent. The results were excellent and the system was approved for the mission. ASPIRE has shown in minute detail how the parachute will be deployed over Mars for the first time.

A 180-pound parachute with a surveillance camera was launched on a rocket from Virginia. The rocket delivered the mechanism to an altitude of 37 km above the earth's surface, where the density of the atmosphere was the same as 10 km above the surface of Mars. During the test, the parachute completely unfolded in just four tenths of a second, which was a new record for this type of mechanism.

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