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During a test September 7, this high-definition video captured the parachute that will carry the Mars 2020 mission through the Red Planet's atmosphere.
NASA / JPL-Caltech
When the Mars 2020 rover arrives at the Red Planet, it will need to work parachute. Fortunately, in a record-breaking test performed early September 7, NASA confirmed that the parachute is designed to carry the rover to the surface.
The test started with the launch of Black Brant IX sounding rocket; less than two minutes after launch, the payload carrying the parachute separated from the rocket and began to fall back to Earth. As it passes a height of 24 miles (38 kilometers) at a speed of Mach 1.8 (1,380 miles per hour [2,200 kph]), the 180-pound (82 kilograms) parachute was released. And just one of the second – the fastest inflation ever – a parachute of this size – it had a maximum load of 67,000 pounds (30,000 kg) of force. That's a second record: the highest load ever survived by a supersonic parachute.
On October 3, March 2020 mission members confirmed that the nylon-Technora-Kevlar drop had passed all required tests and was ready to go.
A single shot
Why all the excitement over a parachute? "Mars 2020 will be carrying the heaviest payload yet to the surface of Mars," said Mars 2020 Project Manager John McNamee of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL ) in a press release. That's why the peak load was also about 85 percent more than researchers expecting during the March.
Earth is tricky, but not impossible as long as you choose the right conditions. "Explained JPL Ian Clark, the test's technical lead." "But high up – around 23 miles (37 km) – the atmospheric density on Earth is very similar to 6 miles (10 kilometers) above Mars, which happens to be the altitude that Mars 2020 will deploy its parachute."
Stick the landing
The parachute may be ready to go, but it is only one part in the rover's landing system. Like the Curiosity rover before it, March 2020 will be used as a vehicle and a sky crane that will hover above the surface and lower the rover of the way to the ground. Such a procedure, while complex, permits mission members to set the heavy rover on the surface much more precisely than a parachute alone. Given the recent debate on the rover's landing site, nailing that landing is extremely important.
In addition to its new, stronger parachute, the mission will also carry a package of new entry, descent, and landing technologies, which will allow the rover to enter the environment. . "We're all about helping 2020," Clark said.
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