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Message: <blockquote data-quote="DJU9" data-source="post: 8067794" data-attributes="member: 44472"><img src="http://a.imageshack.us/img715/3015/29053828.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" />Mars ParachuteA parachute destined for Mars experiences 81,250 pounds of drag force in  the world’s largest wind tunnel at NASA Ames Research Center.  Scientists went on to deploy the parachute 13 more times this past  spring before deeming the 51-foot-diameter mammoth fit to land the next  Red Planet rover, the Mars Science Laboratory. Cushioning a 2,000-pound  rover from a supersonic descent in the thin Martian atmosphere demands  special stamina. The chute gets its strength from stronger synthetic  fiber, called Technora, in its suspension lines. Now a parachute  identical to the one that was tested is packed and ready for the 2011  launch of the MSL mission, which will explore Mars for signs that it  could have once supported life. “The parachute’s got a tough job,” says  Douglas S. Adams, the MSL parachute senior engineer. “It passed [the  tests] with flying colors.”</blockquote>

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