November 30, 2017

A Supersonic Parachute for Mars

Where do you test part of the landing system for Mars 2020? High above Earth, of course

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In 2020, if all goes to plan, NASA will launch a new rover to Mars. In 2021 the mission should enter the martian atmosphere and deploy a very similar set of techniques to the Mars Science Laboratory for getting the robotic explorer onto the surface.

Part of that process involves a supersonic parachute. But testing this isn't so simple. The following, rather wonderful video is a show-and-tell of a recent run-through using a sub-orbital rocket launch (a Black-Brant IX) from Wallops Island in Virginia, USA. The rocket took its payload up to about 32 miles, and then as the experiment plummeted back, at around 26 miles - in the thin stratosphere - it deployed a parachute design used for the Curiosity rover and planned for Mars 2020.

At this altitude the Earth's atmospheric pressure and density are comparable to the surface conditions on Mars.

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The chute pops out about Mach 1.8, and if you keep watching (at about 1:20) you'll be treated to a super-slow-motion version of that deployment, showing the somewhat surreal, animal-like, unfurling - great for the engineers to make sure everything worked perfectly.

Credit: Video; NASA, JPL, Wallops

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