The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) successfully tested supersonic landing parachute that will be deployed in its Mars rover mission set to launch in 2020.
The mission will rely on a special parachute to slow spacecraft down as it enters Martian atmosphere at over 5.4 kilometers per second.
It was the first test of its Mars 2020 mission's parachute-testing series, under the Advanced Supersonic Parachute Inflation Research Experiment (ASPIRE).
The Mars 2020 rover mission is part of NASA's Mars Exploration Program, a long-term effort of robotic exploration of the Red Planet.
The mission is timed for a launch opportunity in July/August 2020 when Earth and Mars are in good positions relative to each other for landing on Mars.