NASA tests supersonic parachute for its Mars 2020 mission
NASA's Mars rover mission set to launch in 2020 has tested a special parachute that would slow the spacecraft down as it enters the Martian atmosphere at nearly 20,000 kmph. The rocket carried the payload to an altitude of 51 km, while the parachute deployed successfully on reaching a velocity of 1.8 times the speed of sound, said NASA.