safe and sound

This inflatable device could be the key to landing humans on Mars

Updated: 
Originally Published: 
NASA Langley Research Center

NASA

It might look like a giant loudspeaker, but this inflatable NASA device wasn’t designed to blast sounds into space.

Instead, this puffy disc might hold the key to landing humans soundly on Mars.

It’s an inflatable heat shield designed to create drag in the Red Planet’s thin atmosphere and soften the landing for heavy missions.

NASA
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