New parachute for experimental NASA Martian lander fails test

Los Angeles Times : On Monday, NASA tested its Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator (LDSD) near Hawaii with partial success. Designed to safely land an unmanned capsule on Mars, the LDSD, which looks like a traditional flying saucer, combines onboard rockets, a large parachute, and a device called a supersonic inflatable aerodynamic decelerator (SIAD). When fully inflated, the SIAD increases the lander’s drag by increasing its cross-sectional area from 4.5 m to 6 m. For the test, the LDSD was lifted to 36.6 km by a balloon; it then fired its rockets to stabilize itself and rise to 55 km. At that height Earth’s atmospheric density is comparable to that of Mars. A similar test of the system last year resulted in the parachute shredding after it deployed. This test used a newly designed and much larger parachute. The stabilizing rockets and the SIAD worked properly; however, the new parachute failed.