The European Space Agency ( ESA ) has quiz the largest Mars parachute ever , which will be used to deliver theirlife - findingExoMars rover to the Red Planet in 2021 .
The test take place in sub - zero experimental condition in Kiruna , Sweden , in the first place this calendar month . A helicopter was used to run up a paradigm interlingual rendition of the spacecraft that will redeem the rover to Mars . Then , it was drop and two parachutes were deployed in sequence .
The first was a original parachute 4.8 metre ( 15.7 foot ) across . But all eyes were on the second parachute , a huge 35 meters ( 115 foot ) across , connected to the spacecraft by 112 cable television service .
“ It was a very exciting moment to see this jumbo parachute unfurl and deliver the trial module to the snowy surface in Kiruna , ” Thierry Blancquaert , ESA ExoMars Carrier Module and Descent Module manager , said in astatement .
This tryout was designed to make trusted the parachute , which weigh 70 kilo ( 154 pounds ) , would deploy successfully . In the time to come , the squad plan to shake off it from a stature of 28 kilometers ( 17 miles ) to simulate the landing on Mars .
The ExoMars rover , weighing about 310 kilograms ( 680 pounds ) , is scheduled to set up in July 2020 , landing on Mars in2021 . It is the second part of the ExoMars mission , with the first – consist of the Schiaparelli lander and theTrace Gas Orbiter(TGO ) – get two year ago .
Of some business organisation will be the failure of Schiaparelli , which crash into the airfoil of Mars in October 2016 . While attempting to land , acomputer glitchcaused the space vehicle to think it was underground , result in it detaching its parachute too high-pitched and slam into the surface .
The Brobdingnagian chute is more than twice the previous criminal record holder , the15 - meter(52 - foot ) parachute used for the landing place of NASA ’s Curiosity rover in August 2012 . Curiosity , which weigh almost three times the ExoMars scouter , used an innovativesky cranesystem to touch down on the surface after using its chute .
Above a sure weighting , bring down on Mars becomes super difficult as parachutes can no longer retard the spacecraft down sufficiently . The planet has only a thin atmosphere , so other methods are frequently used in bicycle-built-for-two . ExoMars will have thrusters and airbags to land the wanderer to a soft landing on the undercoat .
Once it has shore , the rover is run to be searching for biosignatures that could be connect to life . It will have adrillthat enables it to await underground for subsurface ice , and a suite of instruments to complete its objectives .
Before all that , though , we just need to verify it gets there safely , which is why parachute tests like this are important .
