| NASA Center: |
Jet Propulsion Laboratory |
|---|
| Image # : |
P-46428 |
|---|
| Date : |
06/14/1995
|
|---|
|
Title
Pathfinder Air Bags
Full Description
Engineers test huge, multi-lobed air bags, which will envelope and
protect the Mars Pathfinder spacecraft before it impacts the surface
of Mars.
The air bags, manufactured by ILC Dover of Frederica, Delaware, are
composed of four large bags with six smaller, interconnected spheres
within each bag. The bags measure 5 meters (17 feet) tall and about 5
meters (17 feet) in diameter. As Pathfinder is descending to the
Martian surface on a parachute, an onboard altimeter inside the lander
will monitor its distance from the ground. The computer will inflate
these large air bags about 100 meters (330 feet) above the surface of
Mars.
ILC Dover is the same company that manufactures spacesuits.
Keywords
Pathfinder Air Bags ILC Dover Delaware Mars Jet Propulsion Laboratory JPL
Subject Category
Planet-Mars, Viking-Pathfinder-Sojourner,
Reference Numbers
- Center:
JPL
- Center Number:
P-46428
- GRIN DataBase Number:
GPN-2000-000484
Source Information
- Creator/Photographer: NASA
- Original Source: DIGITAL
| Resolution | Format | Width
(Pixels) | Height
(Pixels) | Size
(KBytes) |
Thumbnail |
.jpg |
92 |
61 |
15 |
Small |
.jpg |
653 |
434 |
411 |
Medium |
.jpg |
1530 |
1018 |
2,123 |
Large |
.jpg |
3060 |
2036 |
7,561 |
Other relevant NASA Web sites:
• NASA Headquarters
• NASA History Office
• NASA Image eXchange (NIX)
• NASA Multimedia Gallery
• NASA Human Spaceflight
Updated October 31, 2002
• History Questions: NASA History Office
• Responsible NASA Official: Steve Garber
• Author: Michael Hahn. Editor: Dwayne A. Day
• Curator & Technical Questions: Erin Needham
• NASA's Privacy Statement
|
