Airbags, Lander, Mars, Pathfinder

Object Details

Summary: This is a prototype of the airbag for the Mars Pathfinder lander. Mars Pathfinder was the first mission intended to gather scientific data on the surface of the red planet since the Viking mission in 1976. An unusual, innovative method was used to achieve a soft landing of the spacecraft. On reaching Mars on July 4, 1997, Pathfinder entered the planet's thin atmosphere, was slowed by a parachute and then rockets, and then landed by bouncing on inflated airbags. The artifact consists of an engineering prototype for those airbags. The mission airbags as well as the prototypes were designed and built by JPL for NASA's office of Space Science. The artifact was transferred to NASM by NASA in 1999.
Alternate Name: Mars Pathfinder Airbags

Credit Line: Transferred from National Aeronautics and Space Administration and Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Materials: Vectran high strength fiber over an airtight bladder layer surrounded by four layers of a slightly lighter Vectran fabric.
Dimensions: Approximate (single airbag): 5 ft. 2 11/16 in. tall x 12 ft. 5 5/8 in. wide x 11 ft. 7 1/16 in. diameter (159.3 x 380 x 353.2cm); Overall (assembled four airbags): 15 ft. 2 1/4 in. tall x 17 ft. 3 5/16 in. wide (462.9 x 526.6cm)

National Air and Space Museum

GUID (Link to Original Record): http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/nv997601158-aaef-4e45-bc33-7db8c12249b2