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Incoming: Lander Package Seen Through Safety Netting

NASA Glenn Research Center's Plum Brook Station in Sandusky, Ohio, played a critical role in testing the landing airbags for the Mars Exploration Rovers (MER). Plum Brook Station is set away from Glenn's main campus to allow for more extreme testing. The MER airbags had to be strong enough to cushion the spacecraft landing on rough terrain and to allow it to bounce across Mars' surface at freeway speeds. A test spacecraft and airbag system of about 1,180 pounds was accelerated with a bungee cord system onto a platform of rocks. The drop speed on landing was 20-24 yards per second. More than 50 drop tests of different airbag designs were conducted between December 2001 and December 2002, with additional testing in August 2003.

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