Arnhem, February 18, 2021 – After a 100-million-kilometer journey, NASA’s Mars Perseverance Rover touched down safely at its final destination: Mars. Once the Perseverance Rover entered Mars’s atmosphere, a Technora®-enabled parachute slowed the 1,025-kg-spacecraft from 1,235 km/h to just 320 km/h. It did this within approximately two minutes.
Mars Perseverance Rover carried the heaviest payload of any mission to the Red Planet yet, including over 60kg of Technora®. The parachute was 21.5 meters in diameter, and during tests was shown to be able to support an inflation load of almost 31,751 kg. More information on these tests can be found here.
Technora® is a para-aramid fiber made from copolymers. It is eight times stronger than steel and offers a high dimensional stability and excellent resistance to extreme heat. These properties convinced NASA engineers to choose parachute suspension cords based on Technora®.
For more information about Mars Perseverance Rover mission and parachute system, please read our article here.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech.
About Teijin Aramid
Teijin Aramid is a subsidiary of the Teijin Group and world leader in aramids. Its aramid products Twaron®, Teijinconex®, Technora® and its ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMW-PE) Endumax® are renowned for their strength, sustainability, safety, heat resistance and low weight and are used in a variety of markets and segments, including automotive, safety and life protection, aerospace and a wide range of industrial applications. These high-performance materials are produced in the Netherlands, Thailand and Japan. For more information: www.teijinaramid.com
About the Teijin Group
Teijin (TSE: 3401) is a technology-driven global group offering advanced solutions in the fields of environmental value; safety, security and disaster mitigation; and demographic change and increased health consciousness. Originally established as Japan’s first rayon manufacturer in 1918, Teijin has evolved into a unique enterprise encompassing three core business domains: high-performance materials including aramid, carbon fibers and composites, and also resin and plastic processing, films, polyester fibers and products converting; healthcare including pharmaceuticals and home healthcare equipment for bone/joint, respiratory and cardiovascular/metabolic diseases, nursing care and pre-symptomatic healthcare; and IT including B2B solutions for medical, corporate and public systems as well as packaged software and B2C online services for digital entertainment. Deeply committed to its stakeholders, as expressed in the brand statement “Human Chemistry, Human Solutions”, Teijin aims to be a company that supports the society of the future. The group comprises more than 170 companies and employs some 20,000 people across 20 countries worldwide. Teijin posted consolidated sales of JPY 853.7 billion (USD 8.0 billion) and total assets of JPY 1,004.2 billion (USD 9.4 billion) in the fiscal year that ended on March 31, 2020.
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Suzan.Wilbers@teijinaramid.com