Both incredibly robust and sensitive, this small metallic capsule hosts a range of sensors that collected data as it blasted off at 4300 km per hour.
The scaled-down version of the ExoMars landing module measures just 8 cm in diameter compared to the actual 3.8 metre spacecraft that will carry the Rosalind Franklin rover to the Red Planet. To illustrate the scale, the robot figurine is pictured alongside the capsule on martian-like terrain.
The mini capsule is one of 20 models launched during a test campaign that mimicked the aerodynamics of a Mars atmospheric entry at supersonic speeds last year. A robust, miniaturised piece of technology, it can withstand almost 17 000 g-force of acceleration. This is roughly 11 000 times greater than the acceleration experienced by a Formula 1 driver at full throttle and far beyond what most electronics can survive.
Each model carried electronics circuits to monitor its 230-metre flight path, including magnetometers, accelerometers and radar to analyse the capsule’s movement, trajectory and stability during the free-flight experiment.
The tiny replica of the ExoMars descent module darted from a smooth-bore gun faster than a speeding bullet. In the blink of an eye, all sensors began recording data, while specialised tracking technology allowed cameras to follow the incredibly fast object throughout its entire flight.
This video has been slowed down 60 times – the actual flight lasted just half a second.
The tests provided critical data on how the spacecraft would behave during entry into the martian atmosphere. Following a two-year journey to the Red Planet, the ExoMars descent module will approach Mars at a speed of 21 000 km per hour, relying on heat shields, parachutes and retro rockets to land safely.
The tests took place at the French-German Research Institute of Saint-Louis (ISL), a leading research centre with facilities for investigating the aerodynamics of vehicles such as reentry capsules.