JPL’s Second Supersonic Parachute Test Fails as Chute Shreds

JPL tested deceleration technologies for Mars landings Monday, sending its “flying saucer” craft hurling back to Earth at Mach 3 speeds with a football-field-sized parachute to slow and control its descent — but the chute shredded within seconds of deployment and sent the saucer plummeting to hard splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.

The test took place off the coast of the U.S. Navy’s Pacific Missile Range Facility in Kauai, Hawaii.

Two advanced decelerator technologies — a supersonic inflatable aerodynamic decelerator and a supersonic parachute — were being tested. The supersonic inflatable aerodynamic decelerator deployed and inflated. The supersonic parachute also deployed, but only partially, and was ripped apart by the high velocity of the descent.

JPL’s saucer-shaped craft splashed made a hard splash-down in the Pacific Ocean.

Scientific teams here in Pasadena are beginning to study the data from the test. JPL said a post-flight media teleconference will be held Tuesday to discuss the test.

Today’s test results were similar to last year’s test. Mission managers had hoped that the redesigned parachute would solve the problems experienced earlier, but instead they must rethink the design once again.

A NASA tweet said “We’ll study data from this test to learn and improve.”

The project is one of several cross-cutting technologies NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate is developing to advance the critical technologies needed to put human astronauts on Mars.