Mars Science Lab Chute is Ready

The parachute for the Mars Science Laboratory, which will be launched in 2011, recently passed its tests in the world's largest wind tunnel at NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California. The two engineering types at the bottom provide scale. MSL will be 9 feet long and weigh almost a ton, so, ya know, it needs a big chute. By comparison, Spirit and Opportunity are about 5 feet long and weigh just under 400 lbs.