NASA Works to Improve Supersonic Parachutes for Mars Missions

An Alta X drone is positioned at altitude for an air launch of the Enhancing Parachutes by Instrumenting the Canopy test experiment on June 4, 2025, at NASA’s Armstong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. NASA researchers are developing technology to make supersonic parachutes safer and more reliable for delivering science instruments and payloads to Mars.

An Alta X drone is positioned at altitude for an air launch of the Enhancing Parachutes by Instrumenting the Canopy test experiment on June 4, 2025, at NASA’s Armstong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. NASA researchers are developing technology to make supersonic parachutes safer and more reliable for delivering science instruments and payloads to Mars.

Location AFRC
NASA s Armstrong Flight Research CenterAFRCsupersonic parachutesflexible canopy sensorsbondingMarsEdwards Air Force BaseCaliforniaEPICEnhancing Parachutes by Instrumenting the CanopydroneDale Reed Subscale Flight Research Laboratoryair launch