Parachute ready for NASA's next Mars mission sets Earth speed record

Before helping the March 2020 rover land on the surface of the red planet in 2021, the NASA parachute planned for the mission sets world records here on Earth.

The US space agency said the parachute set the record for "the fastest inflation in the history of a parachute of this size and created a maximum load of nearly 70,000 pounds of force."

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"In less than four tenths of a second, the 180-kilogram parachute has turned from a solid cylinder to a full inflation," NASA reported in a press release.

"Two different parachutes were evaluated during ASPIRE." The first test flight featured almost an exact replica of the parachute used to successfully land NASA's Mars Science Laboratory on the Red Planet in 2012. The second and third tests concerned chutes of similar dimensions but reinforced with materials and sewing. "

NASA reported on October 3 that the ASPIRE tests had proved that the parachute was "ready for its Martian beginnings". Not only did he set an impressive speed record, but the space agency says its 67,000-pound load was the biggest survivor of a supersonic parachute.

The figure of 67,000 pounds is expected to be about 85% higher than what the parachute should face when it enters the atmosphere of Mars, according to NASA.

The space agency says the payload is a bullet-shaped cylindrical structure that contains a supersonic parachute, its deployment mechanism, cameras and other data recording instruments.

"The Earth's atmosphere near the surface is much denser than the one near the Martian surface, about 100 times more," said Ian Clark, Technical Test Manager, in a statement.

"But in the heights – about 37 km – the atmospheric density on Earth is very similar to that of Mars (10 km), which corresponds to the altitude at which Mars 2020 will deploy its parachute."

Regarding NASA's big plan, the space agency aims to make an unmanned space launch / Orion flight in 2020, with the aim of launching human beings on the moon in 2023.

Mission-1 Exploration is the first of a "vast series" of exploration missions aimed at immersing man more deeply in space and, "eventually, to Mars". The mission aims to fly thousands of kilometers beyond the moon in three weeks.

Exploration Mission-2 will aim to send astronauts beyond the moon. The second mission, with astronauts on board, is now scheduled for 2023 as it remains to be seen if any delays will cause changes in the launch date.