Mars 2020 supersonic parachute undergoes first NASA tests

The first test of the Advanced Supersonic Parachute Inflation Research Experiment (ASPIRE) took place on October 4 at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Centre's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. A 17.7m Black Brant IX sounding rocket carried the payload to a maximum altitude of over 50km.

Less than a minute later, at an altitude of 42km and a velocity of 1.8 times the speed of sound, the test conditions were met and the parachute was successfully deployed. Made from a combination of nylon, Technora and Kevlar, ASPIRE was launched from the vehicle at almost 100mph, inflating in about half a second and generating roughly 16 tons of drag force.

"It is quite a ride," said Ian Clark, the test's technical lead from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

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"The imagery of our first parachute inflation is almost as breathtaking to behold as it is scientifically significant. For the first time, we get to see what it would look like to be in a spacecraft hurtling towards the Red Planet, unfurling its parachute."