National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) first supersonic landing parachute test was a success. The parachute will be deployed along the Mars Rover's 2020 mission to explore the planet in search for potential life on Mars.
The test flight was conducted on Oct. 4, 2017 at the NASA Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. The parachute is made of nylon, Technora, and Kevlar. The parachute will be utilized to apply a drag force of almost 35,000 pounds to slow down the payload as it descends on the Martian atmosphere.
NASA released a footage of the flight test and it was a success. The parachute was able to inflate for only half a second to apply the drag force to the payload. The parachute was going for almost 1300 miles an hour during its full inflation. That is equal to 1.8 times the speed of sound.
According to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory technical leader, Ian Clark, this type of support test is essential for the 2020 mission. "The data obtained during these tests are critical for better understanding the environment and dynamics of ta supersonic parachute inflation at Mars," Clark stated. The supersonic parachute will activate on the third stage of the mission, which comprises entry, descent, and landing.
The Mars 2020 rover mission is a vital mission for NASA's Mars Exploration Program. The objective of the mission is to navigate the red planet for potential life and active microbial life itself. Upon its landing on the planet, the rover will then collect rock and soil samples to bring back to earth with another mission in the future. NASA is hopeful for the 2020 mission to provide new discoveries of Mars.
Earlier in September, NASA bid farewell to its Cassini spacecraft after 20 years from its launch. The spacecraft sent its final findings to NASA before plunging into the Saturn surface, destroying itself.
