An inflatable heat shield successfully tested by NASA
The US space agency has successfully tested a heat shield that could eventually be used on Mars.
NASA, the American space agency, has successfully tested a new type of heat shield, released from low orbit before being recovered off Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean. With its six meters in diameter, it is compressed for transport in space and then inflates on command before an atmospheric re-entry.
?Use during a manned voyage
This shield would make it possible to land much more massive loads on Mars than with current rigid shields, such as a capsule housing astronauts.
Source: websites