The company ASPIRE, in collaboration with NASA, is testing new parachutes that can be used for lunar or martian missions as well as on terrestrial air transport
2021 will be the year of arrival of NASA’s new Mars 2020 mission on the red planet. The rover will be among the heaviest ever designed and will enter the atmosphere of Mars at an incredible speed of about 20000 km/h. The safety of the landing will be provided by a new parachute that is able to withstand enormous speed and forces. The project has been developed by the company ASPIRE, leader in the rocket engines sector. The company is also planning a new commercial air transport that will travel beyond the speed of sound.
One of the most delicate aspects of supersonic travel is the brake mechanism of the vehicle. Here comes into play the collaboration with the American government agency. ASPIRE, in fact, has designed the parachute that will accompany the last NASA rover on Mars. While waiting for the approach date, NASA has carried out some tests to study the parachute and design possible improvements. The last one was conducted a few days ago and provided exciting results.
The parachute opened at 38 km altitude in four tenths of a second, at Mach 1.8, almost twice the speed of sound. The structure, built with braided nylon, Technora and Kevlar, weighed 80 kg, remained intact and formed a solid cylinder above the rocket. The first type of parachute tested is a replica of the one directed on Mars and has withstood a weight almost double that of the rover. The second type of parachute was made of advanced materials. The tests conducted in Earth’s atmosphere will provide a lot of useful data for researchers to further improve the parachute and make it available for future space expeditions. It is not to be excluded that one day, the same parachutes that will land on Mars, will allow us to travel overseas in a few minutes and safely.