Landing on Mars is a complex and challenging process that requires precise timing, advanced technology, and careful planning. Here are the basic steps involved in landing on Mars.
Once the lander is safely on the surface of Mars, it can begin its mission of exploring the planet’s surface, analyzing the soil and rocks, and transmitting data back to Earth.
In this video, we’re testing a new way of landing on Mars… by crashing into its surface.
Simplified High Impact Energy Landing Device (SHIELD) is a lander concept being tested at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). It could one day provide a new way for low-cost missions to land on Mars.
Rather than rely on parachutes or retrorockets, SHIELD would include a collapsible, accordion-like base to absorb the energy of a landing. A full-size prototype of the base was tested on Aug. 12, 2022. The prototype was hurled at the ground from the top of a nearly 90-foot-tall (27-meter-tall) drop tower at JPL. A steel plate ensured the impact was even harder than what would be experienced on Mars.
The design worked: After crushing against the steel plate at 110 mph (177 kph), several electronic components inside the SHIELD prototype, including a smartphone, survived the impact.
Landing on Mars is a challenging process, and many missions have failed in the past. However, with advances in technology and a better understanding of the Martian environment, scientists and engineers continue to work towards new and better ways to safely land spacecraft on the Red Planet.
Credit – NASA
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