When the Mars 2020 rover arrives at the Red Planet, it will need a working parachute. Fortunately, in a record-breaking test performed last month, NASA confirmed that the parachute designed to carry the rover most of the way to the Martian surface is ready to do its job.
The test started with the launch of a 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 passed 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 four-tenths of a second later — the fastest inflation ever of a parachute this size — it had unfurled to its full diameter, creating a peak load of 67,000 pounds (30,000 kg) of force. That’s a ...
