Category: history

  • How to Pop a Parachute on Another Planet

    How to Pop a Parachute on Another Planet
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    The Martian atmosphere lies low and thin. There’s not enough of it to land softly by parachute alone. But when you come screaming in a little over 3.5 miles per second, it’s almost more like water than air. The Mars Science Laboratory hit the atmosphere at 13,000 mph and slowed to 900 mph on atmospheric… Read more