See NASA's supersonic parachute on Mars, a thrilling record

When you have a $ 2.4 billion mission on the line, you want the best parachute that money can buy to smoothly lower your precious rover on the surface of Mars.

NASA announced Friday that its March 2020 parachute was ready for use. The parachute also set a world record in the September 7 practice. "It was the fastest inflation in the history of a parachute of this size and it generated a maximum load of nearly 70,000 pounds," NASA said. .

The parachute is mounted on a rocket probe to be deployed in conditions that mimic the atmosphere of Mars. "In less than four-tenths of a second, the 180-pound parachute has become a solid and fully inflated cylinder," NASA said.

It was the third in a series of tests conducted by the Jet Propulsion laboratory's Advanced Supersonic Parachute Inflation Research Experiment (ASPIRE) project.

NASA has released a video of one previous ASPIRE test at the end of 2017. The finalized 2020 parachute is a reinforced version of the one used to safely deliver the Curiosity mobile to Mars.

NASA has released a video showing the tests, which gives parachutes the look of space jellyfish.

NASA's Next Generation Mars Rover 2020 is based on the proven design of the Curiosity rover, but it will be the heaviest rover of the space agency, weighing 1,050 kg.

The rover will look for signs of microbial life on the planet. It will also be responsible for collecting samples and placing them in caches that can be retrieved during subsequent missions and brought back to Earth.

NASA has recently struggled with its current harvest of Martian rovers. the The rover Opportunity is out of reach since June when a dust storm sent him into hibernation. Curiosity is right now go back to science operations after encountering a problem with the transmission of data to the Earth.

NASA plans to launch the new rover on the red planet in mid-2020.

NASA is 60 years old: the space agency has pushed humanity further than anyone and plans to go further.

Take it to the extreme: mix senseless situations – eruptive volcanic eruptions, nuclear collapses, 30-foot waves – with everyday technology. This is what happens.