NASA Tests Ways to Crash Land on Mars
A groundbreaking approach to landing on Mars is under investigation, involving intentionally crashing onto the planet’s surface. Known as the Simplified High Impact Energy Landing Device (SHIELD), this innovative lander concept is presently undergoing tests at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). The potential implications of SHIELD are significant, as it could introduce a cost-effective method for landing missions on Mars. Instead of traditional techniques such as parachutes or retrorockets, SHIELD proposes the use of a collapsible, accordion-style base to absorb the impact of landing. A real-scale model of this base was subjected to testing on August 12, 2022. The prototype was propelled towards the ground from the summit of a nearly 90-foot-tall (27-meter-tall) drop tower at JPL. By utilizing a steel plate to amplify the impact even beyond the conditions on Mars, the experiment demonstrated success. Notably, multiple internal electronic components within the SHIELD prototype, including a smartphone, endured the collision intact.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/California Academy of Sciences
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