NASA Tests Ways to Crash Land on Mars #MISSIONMARS #MARS #NASA #EARTHTOMARS #NASATESTS

NASA Tests Ways to Crash Land on Mars

Were testing a new way of landing on Mars... by
crashing into its surface.
The 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 ofa landing. A full-size prototype of
the base was tested on Aug. 12, 2022. The prototype
was hurled at the ground from the top ofa 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.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/California Academy of
Sciences
#MissionMars #Mars #NASA #earthtomars #NASATests