The European Space Agency (ESA) is Europe’s gateway to space. Its mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.
Find out more about space activities in our 23 Member States, and understand how ESA works together with their national agencies, institutions and organisations.
Exploring our Solar System and unlocking the secrets of the Universe
Go to topicProtecting life and infrastructure on Earth and in orbit
Go to topicUsing space to benefit citizens and meet future challenges on Earth
Go to topicMaking space accessible and developing the technologies for the future
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Close-up of the parachute bag – containing one of two test parachutes of the ExoMars 2020 mission – using a NASA/JPL test rig powered by compressed air. The image shows the new configuration of the parachute bag, which releases the parachute from the centre outward, with the bag opening in a petal-like fashion. The tests are carried out to verify the extraction of the parachutes from the modified bag.
The lid of the parachute assembly is pulled along a suspended cable at high speed while the end of the assembly is fixed to a wall. When the release mechanism is activated, the parachute bag is pulled away from the parachute at the target speed, mimicking the extraction as it will be on Mars. At the highest speeds, the tests enable the extraction to take place at more than 200 km/h.
The parachute system is critical for the safe landing of the ESA/Roscosmos ExoMars 2020 mission on the surface of Mars in March 2021.