Space

Curiosity rover’s parachute flapping in the wind on Mars

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April 4, 2013

NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has once again revealed Mars as a real and dynamic world, in this case a world with wind. It captured a sequence of photos – shown in sequence below – of the parachute jettison by Curiosity, the newest rover on Mars. Curiosity used the chute during its dramatic landing on August 5-6, 2012. Now NASA has released seven images from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter – taken between August 12, 2012 and January 13, 2013 – showing Curiosity’s parachute shifting its shape at least twice in response to wind, as the chute lay on the Martian soil.

Used parachute flaps in wind on Mars — This sequence of seven images from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows wind-caused changes in the parachute of NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft as the chute lay on the Martian ground during months after its use in safe landing of the Curiosity rover. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona

Space scientists used the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter to acquire these images. They’ve used HiRISE to let us see many types of changes on Mars, which has been fascinating. Read more about this sequences of images from NASA.

Curiosity_parachute_2 — This is still my favorite image from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. It’s the Curiosity rover descending to Mars by parachute on August 5-6, 2012. Image via NASA

HiRISE’s first image of Curiosity’s parachute, above, caught the spacecraft suspended from the chute during descent through the Martian atmosphere on August 5-6, 2012. Watch a good video about Curiosity’s dramatic landing here.

Curiosity's parachute on Mars, as seen by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Image via NASA. — Curiosity’s parachute on Mars, as seen by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Image via NASA.

Bottom line: The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has captured a series of images from its perch in orbit around Mars, showing the jettisoned parachute of the new Curiosity rover on Mars, flapping in the wind.

Mars Curiosity rover’s 7 minutes of terror

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Deborah Byrd

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Deborah Byrd (asteroid 3505 Byrd) helps edit EarthSky.org and is a frequent host of EarthSky videos. Deborah created the EarthSky radio series in 1991 and founded EarthSky.org in 1994. Prior to that, she had worked for the University of Texas McDonald Observatory since 1976, and created and produced their Star Date radio series. She has won a galaxy of awards from the broadcasting and science communities, including having an asteroid named in her honor in 1990, a Public Service Award from the National Science Board in 2003, and the Education Prize from the American Astronomical Society in 2020. A science communicator and educator since 1976, Byrd believes in science as a force for good in the world and a vital tool for the 21st century. "Being an EarthSky editor is like hosting a big global party for cool nature-lovers," she says.