VIRGINIA: NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), all geared up for 'Mars mission 2020' attempted its first trial that turned a triumphant.
The first supersonic leading parachute test led by a space research organization NASA was a first thriving attempt completed on October 4, 2017 for the agency’s Mars 2020 rover mission.
A 58-foot Black Brant IX sounding rocket took off from NASA’s Wallops Island Flight Facility in Virginia on route to conduct Advanced Supersonic Parachute Inflation Research Experiment (ASPIRE).
The ASPIRE payload is a bullet-nosed, cylindrical structure carrying a supersonic parachute, the parachute deployment mechanism, and the test’s high-definition cameras and other data-recording instruments.
The rocket carried the payload to an altitude of 32 miles (51 kilometers) about two minutes into the flight. Forty-two seconds later, the test conditions were met, and the parachute deployed successfully at an altitude of 26 miles (42 kilometers) and velocity of 1.8 times the speed of sound.
ASPIRE splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean 35 minutes later, about 34 miles (54 kilometers) southeast of Wallops Island. The payload was subsequently recovered and returned to Wallops for data retrieval and inspection.
The test went successful with the parachute opening during the landing at supersonic speed on Mars making second successful experiment since the last attempt in 2012.
NASA spokesperson said the next experiment to the mission will be conducted in 2018, while NASA’s Mars 2020 rover also has search plans for signs of ancient life on Mars. The mission will also seek cache drilled rock samples for potential future return to Earth, with launch scheduled for July/August of 2020 and land on Mars in February 2021.
