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>> HI, I'M LANCE FOSTER.
I'M AN ENGINEER AT NASA,
AND WELCOME TO THE NASA
ENGINEERING DESIGN CHALLENGE
"PARACHUTING ONTO MARS."
HAVE YOU EVER TRAVELED IN A CAR
AND SUDDENLY HAD TO STOP?
NOW IMAGINE YOU'RE IN
A SPACECRAFT TRAVELING
13,000 MILES PER HOUR,
AND YOU ONLY HAVE 7 MINUTES
TO SLOW DOWN AND SAFELY LAND
YOUR VEHICLE ON THE SURFACE
OF A PLANET SUCH AS MARS.
TO DO THIS, YOU FIRST
HAVE TO UNDERSTAND THE CONCEPT
OF DRAG AND THE EFFECT IT HAS
ON AN OBJECT TRAVELING
THROUGH SPACE.
DRAG IS A FORCE THAT OPPOSES
AN OBJECT'S MOTION THROUGH AIR.
FOR EXAMPLE, AS A SPACECRAFT
LIKE THIS ONE ACCELERATES,
THE SURROUNDING AIR PUSHES
AGAINST IT, CREATING RESISTANCE.
HOWEVER, TO SLOW THE VEHICLE
DOWN ENOUGH TO MAKE
A SAFE LANDING, A DECELERATOR
OR DRAG DEVICE SERVES
AS A BRAKING SYSTEM
FOR THE VEHICLE.
THAT'S THE CHALLENGE NASA FACES
EVERY TIME IT LANDS A SPACECRAFT
ON ANOTHER PLANET.
AND AS WE PLAN MORE ADVANCED
ROBOTIC MISSIONS AND
HUMAN EXPEDITIONS TO PLANETS
FURTHER OUT INTO OUR
SOLAR SYSTEM, WE'LL NEED TO LAND
EVEN HEAVIER SPACECRAFT.
THIS WILL REQUIRE MORE POWERFUL
YET LIGHTWEIGHT DECELERATORS,
OR BRAKING SYSTEMS.
NEXT UP IS NASA ENGINEER
CHRIS TANNER FROM
THE JET PROPULSION LABORATORY
TO TELL US MORE ABOUT
A CHALLENGE THAT NASA HAS
FOR YOU.
>> HI, MY NAME'S CHRIS TANNER,
AND I'M A MECHANICAL ENGINEER
AT THE JET PROPULSION
LABORATORY.
HERE I DO WIND TUNNEL TESTING
OF PARACHUTES FOR EVENTUAL USE
AT MARS.
NASA'S BEEN TRAVELING TO MARS
FOR OVER 40 YEARS,
AND WITH EVERY SPACECRAFT,
WE SEND BIGGER, HEAVIER,
AND MORE COMPLEX ROBOTS.
HOWEVER, THE HEAVIER
THE SPACECRAFT, THE MORE
DIFFICULT IT BECOMES TO
SLOW DOWN ONCE IT GETS TO MARS.
AND WHEN A SPACECRAFT LANDS
ON MARS, IT ONLY HAS 7 MINUTES
TO DECELERATE OR SLOW DOWN
FROM 13,000 MILES PER HOUR
TO 0 MILES PER HOUR.
AND THAT'S REALLY HARD TO DO.
UP UNTIL NOW, WE USED
A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT SYSTEMS
TO DECELERATE OUR SPACECRAFT,
FROM AIRBAGS TO RETRO ROCKETS,
TO SUPERSONIC PARACHUTES.
HOWEVER, WE'RE GONNA NEED
SOMETHING BIGGER AND BETTER
TO EVENTUALLY LAND
LARGER ROBOTS OR HUMANS ON MARS.
NASA'S CURRENTLY WORKING ON
NEW LIGHTWEIGHT DECELERATOR
SYSTEMS TO HELP US SLOW DOWN
MORE QUICKLY.
ONE COMPONENT OF THAT IS CALLED
A SUPERSONIC INFLATABLE
AERODYNAMIC DECELERATOR,
OR SIAD FOR SHORT.
THIS DEVICE INFLATES AROUND
THE ENTRY VEHICLE
AT HIGH SUPERSONIC SPEEDS
ABOUT FOUR TIMES THE SPEED
OF SOUND, MAKING THE VEHICLE
LARGER, CREATING MORE DRAG
AND HELPING IT SLOW DOWN
EVEN QUICKER.
ANOTHER COMPONENT OF
THE SYSTEM IS A LARGER AND
HIGHER PERFORMANCE PARACHUTE.
NOW, PREVIOUSLY, THE LARGEST
PARACHUTE EVER FLOWN ON MARS
MEASURED 71 FEET IN DIAMETER
AND WAS USED TO LAND
THE CURIOSITY ROVER
IN AUGUST OF 2012.
OUR NEW PARACHUTE MEASURES
100 FEET IN DIAMETER, WHICH IS
ABOUT THE SAME SIZE
AS A BIG RIG TRUCK THAT
YOU'D SEE ON THE ROAD.
THIS NEW PARACHUTE WILL ALSO
FLY AROUND MACH 2.
NOW, CAN YOU IMAGINE
A BIG RIG TRUCK FLYING AT
TWO TIMES THE SPEED OF SOUND?
THESE ARE THE KIND OF PROBLEMS
THAT WE WORK ON HERE AT
THE JET PROPULSION LABORATORY.
NOW, YOUR CHALLENGE TODAY IS
TO DESIGN A DECELERATOR SYSTEM
TO SLOW DOWN YOUR SPACECRAFT.
NOW, THERE'S A LOT
TO TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION.
IN PARTICULAR, HOW DO YOU MAKE
YOUR DECELERATOR BOTH LARGE
TO CREATE A LOT OF DRAG,
AND ALSO LIGHTWEIGHT,
SO IT DOESN'T WEIGH DOWN
YOUR SPACECRAFT?
NOW, START THINKING ABOUT
WHAT SPECIAL FEATURES
YOU WANT TO USE ON YOUR SYSTEM.
AND WE CAN'T WAIT TO SEE
THE SUGGESTIONS YOU HAVE FOR
OUR NEXT TRIP TO MARS.
>> THANKS, CHRIS.
NOW, HERE'S YOUR ASSIGNMENT.
DESIGN AND BUILD A DRAG DEVICE
THAT WILL HELP SLOW DOWN
AND SAFELY LAND YOUR SPACECRAFT.
EACH OF YOUR TEAMS MUST:
CONNECT YOUR DRAG DEVICE
TO A TEAM-BUILT CARGO BAY
THAT IS ASSEMBLED USING
THE TEMPLATE PROVIDED IN
YOUR GUIDE.
DEPLOY YOUR ENTIRE DEVICE
FROM TWO METERS.
IT MUST REMAIN INTACT
THROUGHOUT THE DROP.
CREATE A CARGO BAY THAT
MUST HOLD 10 GRAMS.
AND MAKE SURE THE OVERALL
MASS OF YOUR DRAG DEVICE
DOES NOT EXCEED 50 GRAMS.
USE THE ENGINEERING DESIGN
PROCESS TO HELP YOU
CREATE A SOLUTION.
KEEP IN MIND, YOUR DESIGN
MAY NOT WORK AS EXPECTED.
YOU MAY HAVE TO PERFORM
MULTIPLE TESTS AND MAKE
ADJUSTMENTS, BUT THAT'S OKAY.
IT'S ALL PART OF
THE ENGINEERING DESIGN PROCESS.
NOW, IT'S YOUR TURN
TO GET TO WORK.
AND BY ALL MEANS, BE CREATIVE.
I'M EXCITED TO SEE THE DESIGNS
THAT YOUR TEAMS CREATE.
GOOD LUCK.
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