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Phoenix666 [soylentnews.org] writes:

NASA has successfully tested a parachute designed for low-density atmospheres like that found on Mars [theregister.co.uk].

The test saw the NASA Wallops facility launch a Black Brant IX rocket, a 58-footer often used for tests and sub-orbital missions, as part of the agency's Advanced Supersonic Parachute Inflation Research Experiment (ASPIRE).

The 58 km (31.62 mile) flight ended with an Atlantic splashdown, and success for the ASPIRE payload that tests parachutes in a “low density, supersonic environment”.

Thin atmospheres are a challenge for parachutes, so projects like ASPIRE are one way humanity plans to end journeys across space without a too-hard landing on another planet or moon.

As well as inflating in a thin atmosphere, a Martian landing would also need to withstand – and decelerate from – much higher starting velocities than an Earth-bound parachutist (or even an uncrewed payload passing through Earth's dense atmosphere).

Let us hope these parachutes will not impact Mars.

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