NASA plans to send humans to Mars; completes splashdown test for spacecraft
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is preparing itself to send a spacecraft with humans on Mars or any deep destinations. As a part of preparation to achieve a great success in the Word history NASA's so called Orion spacecraft was tossed into a pool as a mock-up for crash test along with the dummies sitting inside to simulate Return-to-Earth Splashdown scenario.
According to Techcrunch, Orion spacecraft was hung like a pendulum to simulate its splash down to earth with one parachute failed to deploy and it was allowed to swing like pendulum for few seconds and then dropped into 20 foot deep hydro-impact basin, an outdoor pool facility at NASA's Langley Research Center.
NASA used dummy human like elements representing 105 pound woman and 220 pound man. The two dummies were equipped with space suite and sensors attached everywhere to study the impact of the test.
NASA considers in using the Orion spacecrafts for the missions like Mars or any other deep destinations. Since the spacecraft is different from Apollo, NASA conducts these tests to understand different scenarios in which this spacecraft may undergo while returning back to Earth. NASA is also considering extreme weather conditions for the landing of its great Orion.
According to Global News, Mark Baldwin, analyst with Lockheed Martin, the prime contractor behind Orion said "A capsule hitting the water hasn't changed," and "But what we know about it has." he added
The test on Thursday involved more than five hundred instruments which gauged the aspects of impact level of strain on heat shield and the aluminum cabin. Space Launch system, a mega rocket is under development by NASA to increase the human influences in space, especially Mars.
Orion spacecraft was first launched in 2014 for the unmanned Mars mission and according to Global News, NASA will send astronauts with Orion to space by 2023.
NASA's vision is to reach new heights and reveal the unknown so that what we do and learn will benefit all humankind.
Orion Ground Test Article drop test Aug. 25, 2016
