Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2018/10/29/watch-nasa-and-jpl-test-the-20.html
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Impressive!
(But that’s JPL for you.)
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So one could use this on the next fly-by of Mars if one wanted to stay for a visit? A rather extended visit?
Who would want that?
Depends. Who are we proposing to put under the 'chute?
That’s what Mars landers and rovers have been doing so far. They don’t use rockets to slow down before entering the atmosphere. They carry heatshields and parachutes to use the atmosphere to capture them and slow them down. If they were to fly 100 km higher, they would fly by and not enter orbit. They just use rockets for the final deceleration before landing, since the Martian atmosphere is not as dense as Earth’s and the terminal descent velocity, even with giant parachutes, is much higher. The proposed SpaceX landers will be the first not to use parachutes, just heatshields and rockets.
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Well, maybe if the political climate really gets to you, and your misanthropic tendencies really flare up, a trip to Mars would be much more effective than moving to Canada…
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If we could get a certain cheeto skinned individual to believe this was a yuge opportunity for real estate development…
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