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The most complex parachute system to ever deploy on Mars has successfully slowed down an ExoMars mock-up landing platform for a safe touchdown on Earth.<\/p>\n
A stratospheric helium balloon lifted a dummy descent module and released it above the Arctic Circle at an altitude of nearly 30 km, triggering the deployment of two large parachutes from their doughnut bags.<\/p>\n
This high-altitude drop test campaign took place at the Swedish Space Corporation\u2019s Esrange Space Center in Kiruna, northern Sweden, on 7 July.<\/p>\n
To match the combination of density and speed that the capsule will experience when diving into the thin martian atmosphere \u2013 about 1% of the density of Earth’s atmosphere at sea level \u2013 the balloon had to fly very high.<\/p>\n
The ExoMars parachutes dropped from an altitude of 29 km, or about three times the altitude where commercial aircraft cruise.<\/p>\n
The dummy capsule then went into free-fall for about 20 seconds, reaching almost the speed of sound, before deploying the parachutes in turn.<\/p>\n
Landing on Mars is a high-risk endeavour. In just six minutes, the descent module has to decelerate from 21 000 km\/h at the top of the planet\u2019s atmosphere to a soft landing to keep its precious cargo, the Rosalind Franklin rover, fit for surface exploration.<\/p>\n
The first stage main parachute\u00a0is 15 m-wide. The second stage main parachute is 35 m-wide and it is formed from a series of rings with gaps in between them. This will be the largest parachute to ever fly on Mars or anywhere in the Solar System besides Earth.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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