NASA advances Supersonic parachute technology for Mars payload delivery
Shreeaa Rathi | TIMESOFINDIA.COM | Aug 04, 2025, 21:19 IST
( Image credit : TIL Creatives )
NASA is pushing the boundaries of exploration with innovative parachute technology, specifically designed for Martian missions. At the Armstrong Research Center, parachutes fitted with advanced sensors are taking to the skies. The gathered data is pivotal in enhancing parachute designs, ensuring safer landings for vital equipment. These refinements aim for the seamless delivery of scientific instruments to the Red Planet.
NASA researchers are conducting flight tests to improve supersonic parachute technology for delivering payloads to Mars, using data from sensor-equipped parachutes launched from drones at Armstrong Flight Research Center in California. These tests, led by the EPIC team, aim to gather evidence to enhance the reliability and safety of these parachutes, with the ultimate goal of improving the delivery of scientific instruments to Mars. The research involves using flexible, strain-measuring sensors on parachutes to collect data during flight, which will then be used to refine computer models and potentially foster partnerships with the aerospace and auto racing industries. The initial flight tests, which included air-launching a capsule with a sensor-equipped parachute from a drone, have already provided valuable data for planning future tests.
NASA's EPIC (Enhancing Parachutes by Instrumenting the Canopy) team at Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, is leading these investigative research flights. The objective is to advance a sensor for supersonic parachutes.
The data gathered could improve the reliability and safety of parachutes used for delivering scientific instruments and payloads to Mars.
During a June flight test, a quadrotor aircraft, or drone, air-launched a capsule that deployed a parachute equipped with a sensor.
The flexible, strain-measuring sensor attached to the parachute did not interfere with the canopy material, just as the EPIC team had predicted.
The sensors also provided data, a bonus for planning upcoming tests.
“Reviewing the research flights will help inform our next steps,” said Matt Kearns, project manager for EPIC at NASA Armstrong.
The team is also exploring potential partnerships to leverage the collected data.
“We are speaking with potential partners to come up with a framework to obtain the data that they are interested in pursuing. Our team members are developing methods for temperature testing the flexible sensors, data analysis, and looking into instrumentation for future tests.”
The flight tests represent a step toward refining computer models to improve supersonic parachutes.
This work may also lead to collaborations with other industries.
NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate ( STMD ) funds the EPIC work through its Entry Systems Modeling project at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley.
The capsule and parachute system were developed by NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia.
NASA Armstrong interns collaborated with Langley to build and integrate a similar system for testing at NASA Armstrong.
An earlier phase of the work focused on identifying commercially available flexible strain sensors and developing a bonding method as part of an STMD Early Career Initiative project.
NASA researchers Paul Bean and Mark Hagiwara attached the capsule with parachute system to the Enhancing Parachutes by Instrumenting the Canopy test experiment on June 4, 2025, at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California.
Derek Abramson and Justin Link attached an Alta X drone to the Enhancing Parachutes by Instrumenting the Canopy test experiment on June 4, 2025, at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California.
Abramson is NASA chief engineer at the center’s Dale Reed Subscale Flight Research Laboratory, where Link also works as a pilot for small uncrewed aircraft systems.
An Alta X drone was used for the air launch of the Enhancing Parachutes by Instrumenting the Canopy test experiment on June 4, 2025, at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California.
The parachute of the Enhancing Parachutes by Instrumenting the Canopy test experiment deployed following an air launch from an Alta X drone on June 4, 2025, at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California.
The Enhancing Parachutes by Instrumenting the Canopy project team examined a capsule and parachute following an air launch from an Alta X drone on June 4, 2025, at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California.
The best way to solve a mystery is by gathering evidence and building a case.
That’s exactly what NASA researchers are doing with a series of research flights aimed at advancing a sensor for supersonic parachutes.
NASA's EPIC (Enhancing Parachutes by Instrumenting the Canopy) team at Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, is leading these investigative research flights. The objective is to advance a sensor for supersonic parachutes.
The data gathered could improve the reliability and safety of parachutes used for delivering scientific instruments and payloads to Mars.
During a June flight test, a quadrotor aircraft, or drone, air-launched a capsule that deployed a parachute equipped with a sensor.
The flexible, strain-measuring sensor attached to the parachute did not interfere with the canopy material, just as the EPIC team had predicted.
The sensors also provided data, a bonus for planning upcoming tests.
“Reviewing the research flights will help inform our next steps,” said Matt Kearns, project manager for EPIC at NASA Armstrong.
The team is also exploring potential partnerships to leverage the collected data.
“We are speaking with potential partners to come up with a framework to obtain the data that they are interested in pursuing. Our team members are developing methods for temperature testing the flexible sensors, data analysis, and looking into instrumentation for future tests.”
The flight tests represent a step toward refining computer models to improve supersonic parachutes.
This work may also lead to collaborations with other industries.
NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate ( STMD ) funds the EPIC work through its Entry Systems Modeling project at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley.
The capsule and parachute system were developed by NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia.
NASA Armstrong interns collaborated with Langley to build and integrate a similar system for testing at NASA Armstrong.
An earlier phase of the work focused on identifying commercially available flexible strain sensors and developing a bonding method as part of an STMD Early Career Initiative project.
NASA researchers Paul Bean and Mark Hagiwara attached the capsule with parachute system to the Enhancing Parachutes by Instrumenting the Canopy test experiment on June 4, 2025, at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California.
Derek Abramson and Justin Link attached an Alta X drone to the Enhancing Parachutes by Instrumenting the Canopy test experiment on June 4, 2025, at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California.
Abramson is NASA chief engineer at the center’s Dale Reed Subscale Flight Research Laboratory, where Link also works as a pilot for small uncrewed aircraft systems.
An Alta X drone was used for the air launch of the Enhancing Parachutes by Instrumenting the Canopy test experiment on June 4, 2025, at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California.
The parachute of the Enhancing Parachutes by Instrumenting the Canopy test experiment deployed following an air launch from an Alta X drone on June 4, 2025, at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California.
The Enhancing Parachutes by Instrumenting the Canopy project team examined a capsule and parachute following an air launch from an Alta X drone on June 4, 2025, at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California.
The best way to solve a mystery is by gathering evidence and building a case.
That’s exactly what NASA researchers are doing with a series of research flights aimed at advancing a sensor for supersonic parachutes.