A Historic Test for Tomorrow's Mars Missions

In a stunning test high above the Arctic Circle, engineers successfully deployed giant parachutes designed to land on Mars. A stratospheric helium balloon lifted a dummy descent module to a staggering altitude of 30 kilometers, unleashing the parachutes from their tightly packed bags.

"Today, we celebrate a breakthrough! We have a parachute design that is ready to tackle Mars’ atmosphere – truly an ambitious system featuring the largest parachute ever set to fly beyond Earth," declared Luca Ferracina, ESA's ExoMars Entry Descent and Landing Module engineer.

Preparing for a Martian Touchdown: The Science Behind the Test

Testing a Mars landing requires matching the extreme conditions the capsule will face, as it'll experience only about 1% of Earth's atmospheric density when it enters Mars. This high-altitude test at Esrange Space Center in northern Sweden precisely mimicked those conditions.

Dropping from 29 kilometers—three times the height of commercial airliners—the dummy capsule free-fell for about 20 seconds, accelerating to near the speed of sound before successfully deploying the parachutes.

Mastering the Descent: Dual Parachutes for a Safe Landing

Landing on Mars isn’t just a walk in the park—it's a high-stakes mission. In an astonishing six minutes, the descent module must slow from 21,000 kilometers per hour to a gentle landing to ensure the Rosalind Franklin rover survives the journey.

A safe touchdown demands not just one but two advanced parachutes, each equipped with pilot chutes for efficient deployment, plus a retro-rocket system ready to fire just seconds before impact.

"By employing two parachutes, we enhance our design—starting with a robust, medium-sized parachute to navigate the supersonic speeds, and concluding with a massive, lightweight parachute for the final descent," explained John Underwood, principal engineer at Vorticity.

A Record-Breaking Parachute Design

The primary parachute spans 15 meters, modeled after those designed for NASA's historic Viking missions. However, for ExoMars, teams have adapted a design from ESA's successful Cassini-Huygens mission to Titan, which proudly holds the record for the furthest landing ever conducted.

The secondary parachute is a groundbreaking 35 meters wide, crafted with over 800 square meters of fabric and more than four kilometers of suspension lines—making it the largest parachute ever set to fly on any planetary body aside from Earth!

Ready for Deployment: A Look Ahead

Even though the parachute system passed its initial qualifications in 2021, the mission faced delays due to geopolitical issues, with the ongoing conflict in Ukraine halting progress. This recent test is crucial to guarantee the parachutes' readiness after an extended storage period.

Fortunately, the parachutes are made from ultra-light fabric, weighing only about 40 grams per square meter—half the weight of a standard sheet of paper.

Insights from the Skies: Data Analysis and European Collaboration

With real-time telemetry collected during the drop, the Vorticity team is now meticulously analyzing the data alongside high-speed video footage to fine-tune their inflation models and deceleration profiles.

Most of the parachute system has been ingeniously designed and constructed across Europe, featuring components from the Netherlands to Czechia. This collaborative effort showcases the pinnacle of European engineering innovation, all while Thales Alenia Space in France oversaw this remarkable testing campaign.

As the countdown to Mars continues, the successful deployment of these parachutes undeniably signals a giant leap toward safer space exploration!