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This is a cross-section of the airbag material used on NASA's highly successful Mars Pathfinder and Mars Exploration Rover missions which landed on the Red Planet in 1997 and 2004, respectively. The airbags protected the delicate Pathfinder, Spirit and Opportunity rovers from impact with the Martian surface; after descending via parachute, the airbags were inflated and the chute line cut, allowing the spacecraft, with their soft cocoons surrounding them, to freely drop and bounce onto the surface. The airbags are made of eight layers of a special highly-durable material called Vectran (which is stronger than Kevlar) and can surive the high-speed impact with the sharp rocks lying on Mars' surface. The airbags are manufactured by the ILC Dover company, which also makes the spacesuits NASA uses on its missions. |
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