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[Music]

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for those of us who are excited by the

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idea of space travel we recently got

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some good news

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NASA is looking into the idea of sending

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humans to Mars as early as the late

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that means ideas and hardware designed

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to get us to Mars is now being ramped up

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to meet this challenge but if you ask

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anyone who has ever been involved with

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the Mars mission they will tell you that

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successfully landing on or orbiting Mars

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is incredibly difficult in fact of the

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more than 40 missions that humans have

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previously sent to Mars less than half

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one of the major challenges that face

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NASA researchers is how to deliver heavy

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equipment and people safely to the

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surface of Mars popular movies and

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science fiction articles make landing on

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a planet look easy but in fact that is

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where the hardest elements to achieve

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there are a host of aerodynamic and

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physics issues that engineers need to

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overcome first and foremost is

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decelerating a spacecraft traveling many

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times faster than a bullet and allow it

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to gently land with precision onto

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another planetary surface hundreds of

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millions of miles away to date the

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maximum weight we have landed on Mars is

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about one time but when humans arrive

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we'll need to land 15 to 20 tons onto

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the surface the only way to accomplish

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this feat is to innovate and come up

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with a new strategy a small group of

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dedicated NASA engineers researchers

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designers and craftspeople are currently

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working on making a safe entry into the

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Mars atmosphere possible the technology

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is called kayak for hypersonic

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inflatable aerodynamic decelerator and

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it promises to redefine how we deliver

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spacecraft to Mars and other planets

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with atmospheres coming up on this

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episode of NASA X we will take a look at

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the difficulties associated with landing

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on a planet like Mars and see how the

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nasa hyatt team plans to overcome the

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tremendous challenges faced with landing

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there we will also visit the labs and

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partner companies who are helping to

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build high ad and see firsthand what

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[Music]

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entry descent and landing or EDL is one

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of the most challenging aspects of any

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Lander mission

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that's because landing the spacecraft is

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hard

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whether you are landing it back here on

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earth

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or on another planet like Mars although

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it's not easy on either planet Earth's

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atmosphere does offer more help to slow

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down a speeding spacecraft this is

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because our atmosphere is dense compared

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to Mars when a spacecraft flies through

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an atmosphere aerodynamic forces act

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upon it to help slow it down the drag

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that is created on the craft allows it

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to decelerate to the point where

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subsonic parachutes can be deployed or

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in the case of the shuttle where a

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guided landing could occur the same

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can't be said for a Mars landing the

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Martian atmosphere is very thin and much

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different than Earth's

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in fact the densest portion of the

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Martian atmosphere is only about as

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thick as our atmosphere is at a hundred

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thousand feet as a result a spacecraft

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flying through the Martian atmosphere

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does not generate as much drag so it

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cannot be slowed down as quickly as it

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could back on earth for most laypeople

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to immediate thoughts may come to mind

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about how to slow a craft at Mars the

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first is to use rocket propulsion in

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theory this is a good plan but in

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actuality the amount of fuel needed

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would be enormous one NASA study

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determined that landing 40 tons on the

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surface of Mars would require over 60

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tons of rocket fuel the other thought is

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to use giant parachutes

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however this much mass would require a

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cluster of parachutes

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each the size of a football field to be

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deployed while traveling more than 2

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times the speed of sound so to the high

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ad team working on this problem the

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solution is clear use a larger vehicle

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so that the Martian atmosphere slow

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astound higher up in the atmosphere

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previous missions have used the

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atmosphere to successfully slow a craft

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but the mass and entry speed of the

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spacecraft coupled with the thin

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atmosphere limited landing areas to only

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the lowest elevations on the planet

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in fact currently only 40% of the

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Martian surface is accessible for

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one-time payloads clearly these are

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major issues that must be overcome

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before we can send larger payloads and

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eventually humans to Mars so how do we

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overcome all these obstacles here at

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NASA a group of engineers and

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researchers are working on that exact

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problem and they have come up with a

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solution that looks like the most viable

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option available to us

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they call it hi add or hypersonic

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inflatable aerodynamic decelerator here

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is dr. Neil Cheatwood to explain if you

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look at how we get to Mars now we're

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using the technologies that we developed

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back in the 60s and 70s for project

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vacuuming and that was the first time we

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successfully landed on Mars way back

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when in the 60s and 70s project Viking

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had a technology development effort and

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that's where they developed a thermal

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protection system and it's known as

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Bob's SLA superlight weight of blade ur

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561 V for Viking and we've been using

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that for every successful mission to

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Mars up until our most recent adventure

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the Curiosity rover so we had that TPS

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that was heritage from way back when the

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disc cap BAM parachute the supersonic

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parachute was developed under the Viking

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program and we're still using all these

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things we're still flying the same air

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shell for body shape that we had from

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project Viking so we've been living off

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of that heritage out for that legacy but

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with the Curiosity rover we basically

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landed as much mass as we possibly can

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at Mars at least at that altitude if we

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tried to land more we would end up

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hitting the surface before we achieved

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all the the sequence of events that we

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had to achieve in a timeline

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if we wanted to land that same Rover at

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a higher altitude also we would run out

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of time we'd hit the ground before we

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finished everything we needed to do and

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so that really that motive was our

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motivation when we we started looking at

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Kirby the first earthly mission and so

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what we what we had done one of the guys

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that was involved in this had had you

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know done some research and seen a

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concept that the Russians were

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developing and they tried flying this

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inflatable aeroshell sometimes where you

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could deploy something bigger and a

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larger drag device lets you slow down

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faster so you can either land that same

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mass at a higher altitude adjustment

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falls out of the equations or you could

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bring in more mass and land it at the

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same location so we were looking at

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deployable devices the Russians were

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looking at this inflatable aeroshell but

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they covered theirs with an ablative

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thermal protection system and we were

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concerned that maybe that wasn't the way

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to go and so we started looking at a one

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that poor we could just make it bigger

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so he keeps the heat rate down lower and

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not using a blade but with the human

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scale now you won't land 40 metric tons

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or certainly at least 20 metric tons it

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is like holy cow how you gonna do that

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let's talk some numbers with the

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Curiosity rover that mission the Mars

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Science Laboratory is the largest

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aeroshell we've ever built so the air

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shell is what protects us when we go

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through the atmosphere and say it's a

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cocoon for our payload for our science

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so that that structure that protects

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that and to protect the structure we

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have to have that heat shield that

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protects us that era shell for her MSL

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is Mars Science Laboratory is a little

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over four and a half meters in diameter

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biggest one we've ever built

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it's bigger than Apollo bigger than

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anything it's it's a big area even with

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that large era shell what it contains

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within that Rover and all the

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experiments are so heavy that we can't

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decelerate fast enough to reach the

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higher altitudes of Mars

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in fact the best we can do with that

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system we can't even get to what was the

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Mars sea level so we're landing below

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what was Martian sea level where it

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ultimately landed is about minus one

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kilometer so a kilometer below that sea

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level location because it's just so

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heavy if we had a larger era shell then

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we could decelerate that mass sooner

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that larger aeroshell could be a high ad

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because the launch vehicle can only

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physically accommodate a certain size

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payload to fit inside the fairing

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Engineers believe that an inflatable

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aeroshell is the best answer to get

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larger mass items onto other planetary

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surfaces with atmospheres the basic

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concept of a high ad is pretty simple

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the payload is placed in the center

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surrounded by a group of rings or tor I

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that look very similar to large inner

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tubes the tour I are stacked in such a

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way that different diameters will be

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stacked one on top of each other and

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strapped together then a flexible

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thermal protection system is placed

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around them to create a more smooth and

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heat resistant surface the materials

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used are incredibly strong fabrics like

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Xylon and Kevlar but can also easily

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fold into the rocket shroud once

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inflated these crafts can become

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stronger than steel and handle

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tremendous loads well one thing that

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maybe can give people an idea of how

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structurally strong and durable these

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inflatables are is that a 15-meter

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design of a Flavel Aero shell is

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designed to take a load of about 300

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thousand pounds during entry so 300

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thousand pounds is approximately a

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hundred cars so if you think of hundred

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stacking 100 vehicles on top of this

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fabric structure is very impressive that

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structured this made out of cloth and

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and

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woven materials can take that kind of

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load once the craft arrives at its

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destination the Hyatt will inflate to

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enter the atmosphere all of these strong

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heat-resistant materials will act

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together to keep the payload safe from

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heating while slowing the craft down

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long enough to land at virtually any

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location this device has already

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undergone spaceflight tests and has

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proven to be incredibly successful it

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has been flight tested twice most

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recently on a test called ERV III ERV

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III launched in 2012 from the NASA

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Wallops Flight Facility on Virginia's

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Eastern Shore although it was a

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relatively small test the data that it

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produced gave the team the confidence

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they needed to continue exploring this

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concept

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ERV III entered Earth's atmosphere at

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Mach 10 10 times the speed of sound and

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successfully survived the heat and

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forces of the journey temperature

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readings recorded on this suborbital

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test were as much as 1,000 degrees

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Fahrenheit and the device experienced

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forces up to 20 G's this test opened the

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doors to larger missions and the

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opportunity to construct larger high

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adds up next we'll see how a new Hyatt

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article is custom made by hand in a

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unique facility in California

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[Music]

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when you think about building a craft to

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travel to other planets you may think

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about men and women and pristine

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buildings coming up with designs and

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concepts on the computer then high-tech

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machines and tools used to help put them

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together in truth that is how many

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00:13:50,389 --> 00:13:47,879
crafts are built but in these early

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stages of high ad testing the places

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where these devices are being

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constructed look more like workshops

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00:13:58,790 --> 00:13:56,670
than pristine clean rooms and although

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00:14:01,280 --> 00:13:58,800
the men and women working on this

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concept are using computers to aid in

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their development there are also skilled

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00:14:08,240 --> 00:14:05,339
craftspeople that are putting together

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these devices just like a fine tailor

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00:14:13,340 --> 00:14:10,889
may put together a suit here in this

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00:14:15,980 --> 00:14:13,350
nondescript building in California

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00:14:18,199 --> 00:14:15,990
you can see how these fabric pieces are

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put together they're tailored it's it's

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an art form I mean you can't just plug

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it into a computer and spit it out and

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make this there's there's a hands-on

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huge hands-on influence and that's

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mostly where my site comes in

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00:14:33,110 --> 00:14:30,720
communication with how to build these

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00:14:34,699 --> 00:14:33,120
things figure out how to get the in

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finished product we want from materials

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00:14:37,879 --> 00:14:35,939
we've never worked with before in our

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lives there's the major components to a

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00:14:42,499 --> 00:14:40,050
torus we have the braid which is outer

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00:14:44,509 --> 00:14:42,509
material you see with the criss cross we

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have the liner which is inside of that

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which is the seal it basically keeps the

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air from leaking out and then we have a

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adhesive we use for coating and for

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bonding all the pieces together on the

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00:14:59,600 --> 00:14:57,449
table everything's laid out flat so we

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it's it's not in this curved shape when

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we're building it it's straight in the

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tube

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we take our measurements straight we use

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squares and basic tape measures rulers

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marked with a permanent marker and make

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00:15:14,809 --> 00:15:13,259
a cut with the ends it's like a end of a

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t-shirt if you could cut it and it'll

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00:15:18,829 --> 00:15:16,980
fray we have to kind of doctor the ends

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00:15:20,650 --> 00:15:18,839
up to make sure that

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they don't fray unravel so we can

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consistently have our lengths we wanted

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00:15:27,199 --> 00:15:25,560
these liners can be 200 feet long and

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00:15:28,850 --> 00:15:27,209
there's a line that I've drawn that I

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00:15:32,060 --> 00:15:28,860
have to keep and I'm just walking along

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00:15:33,949 --> 00:15:32,070
and cut this line but because there's no

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00:15:35,780 --> 00:15:33,959
machine that's out there to make it cut

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00:15:36,889 --> 00:15:35,790
that long so we're and at this stage

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where it's all handwork

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so we basically pieced it together and

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if the piece isn't wide enough like the

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the liner inside the the Taurus consists

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of three different pieces it's got

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because the materials not wide enough to

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go around we have to put seams together

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00:15:54,710 --> 00:15:52,709
to figure the size we want so I have to

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know I cut the panels and line them up

354
00:15:59,690 --> 00:15:57,180
then I have to bottom up and then glue

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the panels together with an RVT adhesive

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00:16:05,720 --> 00:16:02,190
we use the yellow and red one are both

357
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the same construction the yellow one

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00:16:10,910 --> 00:16:08,220
hasn't been coated yet so it is it's

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built to the right shape but they all

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00:16:14,990 --> 00:16:12,500
the pieces haven't been tied together

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00:16:16,699 --> 00:16:15,000
when the braids finished like this this

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is uncoated so if you take the pressure

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00:16:21,139 --> 00:16:18,720
out of this article right now the braid

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00:16:23,269 --> 00:16:21,149
will get completely disorganized and the

365
00:16:24,920 --> 00:16:23,279
gasper inside the braid would actually

366
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become disassociated with the outer

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00:16:28,880 --> 00:16:26,459
layer so when you want to inflate it

368
00:16:32,360 --> 00:16:28,890
again the barrier would probably wrinkle

369
00:16:34,009 --> 00:16:32,370
up inside and you have localized

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00:16:35,900 --> 00:16:34,019
elongation though they see the

371
00:16:37,610 --> 00:16:35,910
capabilities the material and probably

372
00:16:39,500 --> 00:16:37,620
the spring leaks in it and also the

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00:16:42,410 --> 00:16:39,510
braid itself would would tend to open up

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00:16:43,970 --> 00:16:42,420
the gaps so before we can deflate it we

375
00:16:47,900 --> 00:16:43,980
have to coat it and we use this high

376
00:16:50,360 --> 00:16:47,910
temperature silicone coating it's a RTV

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00:16:52,699 --> 00:16:50,370
that we put on it it helps organize the

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00:16:56,120 --> 00:16:52,709
braid and it also we we push it through

379
00:16:58,160 --> 00:16:56,130
the material so that it adheres to the

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00:17:00,710 --> 00:16:58,170
gas barrier on the inside so those stay

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00:17:03,890 --> 00:17:00,720
locked together in the matrix

382
00:17:07,100 --> 00:17:03,900
after putting together these tour I the

383
00:17:09,740 --> 00:17:07,110
next step is to begin testing up next

384
00:17:11,929 --> 00:17:09,750
the article is placed inside a hydro rig

385
00:17:17,950 --> 00:17:11,939
while engineers test the high adds

386
00:17:17,960 --> 00:17:32,620
[Music]

387
00:17:39,110 --> 00:17:36,500
guess they were performing a a test to

388
00:17:41,029 --> 00:17:39,120
prove that the the article could take a

389
00:17:42,799 --> 00:17:41,039
certain amount of pressure inside of it

390
00:17:46,730 --> 00:17:42,809
I have to work around this thing if the

391
00:17:48,650 --> 00:17:46,740
pressure gets increased in them the with

392
00:17:50,060 --> 00:17:48,660
air inside of it if it pops like a

393
00:17:51,350 --> 00:17:50,070
balloon you pop a balloon and even

394
00:17:52,580 --> 00:17:51,360
though it's got very much don't how much

395
00:17:54,169 --> 00:17:52,590
pressure and you pop it makes a loud

396
00:17:55,970 --> 00:17:54,179
noise there's this energy going

397
00:17:57,919 --> 00:17:55,980
somewhere if you take a water balloon

398
00:17:58,940 --> 00:17:57,929
and put it under water and pop it

399
00:18:00,260 --> 00:17:58,950
the only thing you're going to see is

400
00:18:01,640 --> 00:18:00,270
you're gonna see the outside the balloon

401
00:18:03,620 --> 00:18:01,650
just kind of disappear you're not going

402
00:18:05,779 --> 00:18:03,630
to have any of this effect or or or

403
00:18:07,190 --> 00:18:05,789
movement so what we were doing is we're

404
00:18:09,890 --> 00:18:07,200
testing the article to a high pressure

405
00:18:11,630 --> 00:18:09,900
that we calculated would be good too but

406
00:18:13,580 --> 00:18:11,640
we we don't want to test it with air

407
00:18:16,549 --> 00:18:13,590
because if it did pop or rupture have a

408
00:18:19,520 --> 00:18:16,559
failure then it would be like a balloon

409
00:18:21,110 --> 00:18:19,530
on steroids so by by putting underwater

410
00:18:22,870 --> 00:18:21,120
filling it with water taking it to a

411
00:18:25,430 --> 00:18:22,880
pressure which is higher than we'd ever

412
00:18:27,470 --> 00:18:25,440
operate it out we have that cushion in

413
00:18:29,630 --> 00:18:27,480
that a comfort level I can stand next to

414
00:18:32,720 --> 00:18:29,640
it and know that it's been it's safe to

415
00:18:35,049 --> 00:18:32,730
operate and be around so as lead for the

416
00:18:37,789 --> 00:18:35,059
inflatable structures development I'm

417
00:18:39,770 --> 00:18:37,799
working with a group of engineers we're

418
00:18:42,049 --> 00:18:39,780
doing analysis work to structurally

419
00:18:43,549 --> 00:18:42,059
analyze to be at the design to make sure

420
00:18:46,279 --> 00:18:43,559
I can take the the loads that are being

421
00:18:48,770 --> 00:18:46,289
applied we have to also look at the

422
00:18:50,299 --> 00:18:48,780
thermal properties of the material so it

423
00:18:52,039 --> 00:18:50,309
can withstand the heat in environment

424
00:18:55,220 --> 00:18:52,049
and we're also doing a lot of material

425
00:18:57,140 --> 00:18:55,230
testing so everything from testing from

426
00:18:59,210 --> 00:18:57,150
the strength of materials to of being

427
00:19:01,430 --> 00:18:59,220
able to withstand the temperatures the

428
00:19:04,250 --> 00:19:01,440
team has good data about these smaller

429
00:19:07,310 --> 00:19:04,260
tor i but if we are to use this concept

430
00:19:10,399 --> 00:19:07,320
to eventually land humans on Mars we

431
00:19:11,899 --> 00:19:10,409
must get these sizes much larger one

432
00:19:13,390 --> 00:19:11,909
thing about soft goods is they're hard

433
00:19:15,160 --> 00:19:13,400
to characterize

434
00:19:18,040 --> 00:19:15,170
you know we have a lot of analytical

435
00:19:19,270 --> 00:19:18,050
models that we have pretty good faith in

436
00:19:22,210 --> 00:19:19,280
now that we've developed over the course

437
00:19:23,830 --> 00:19:22,220
of the hai project but still as we make

438
00:19:25,330 --> 00:19:23,840
these large jumps you know there's not a

439
00:19:27,250 --> 00:19:25,340
lot of faith in them and so the only

440
00:19:29,740 --> 00:19:27,260
real way to get data is to build these

441
00:19:31,870 --> 00:19:29,750
things and test them the tour I stack

442
00:19:35,020 --> 00:19:31,880
that is being manufactured here in

443
00:19:37,330 --> 00:19:35,030
California is the structure the interior

444
00:19:39,880 --> 00:19:37,340
piece of the high ad but the flexible

445
00:19:42,490 --> 00:19:39,890
heat shield the external piece is being

446
00:19:45,130 --> 00:19:42,500
designed and built across the country in

447
00:19:47,650 --> 00:19:45,140
Dover New Hampshire at this facility a

448
00:19:50,170 --> 00:19:47,660
small team is developing the process

449
00:19:52,840 --> 00:19:50,180
that will be used to sew together the

450
00:19:55,080 --> 00:19:52,850
cutting edge materials used on the

451
00:19:57,910 --> 00:19:55,090
exterior of the high ad structure

452
00:20:00,430 --> 00:19:57,920
because the external shielding will see

453
00:20:02,830 --> 00:20:00,440
the highest temperatures it must be made

454
00:20:05,200 --> 00:20:02,840
from materials that can withstand the

455
00:20:07,300 --> 00:20:05,210
massive heating environment the high app

456
00:20:10,300 --> 00:20:07,310
will encounter flexible thermal

457
00:20:12,250 --> 00:20:10,310
protection systems part of a re-entry

458
00:20:14,580 --> 00:20:12,260
system that could be used to bring

459
00:20:17,230 --> 00:20:14,590
things back from the space station or

460
00:20:19,660 --> 00:20:17,240
ultimately go out and provide larger

461
00:20:21,340 --> 00:20:19,670
payloads out to Mars it incorporates a

462
00:20:24,670 --> 00:20:21,350
thermal protection system outer layer

463
00:20:27,370 --> 00:20:24,680
with an inflatable interior portion

464
00:20:30,340 --> 00:20:27,380
which provides the shape and stability

465
00:20:32,950 --> 00:20:30,350
the fabric is silicon carbide which

466
00:20:35,440 --> 00:20:32,960
allows it to take the high heat loads

467
00:20:38,810 --> 00:20:35,450
unlike other materials that we've tried

468
00:20:44,310 --> 00:20:41,580
the insulating layers are carbon felts

469
00:20:47,760 --> 00:20:44,320
and an aerogel material they're backed

470
00:20:50,100 --> 00:20:47,770
up by a gas barrier which prevents any

471
00:20:52,440 --> 00:20:50,110
gas is flowing through the entire system

472
00:20:55,370 --> 00:20:52,450
so the highest temperature rated

473
00:20:57,840 --> 00:20:55,380
materials on the outside and any

474
00:21:00,330 --> 00:20:57,850
insulators to prevent the gas barrier

475
00:21:03,030 --> 00:21:00,340
from over tamping although this material

476
00:21:05,130 --> 00:21:03,040
is incredibly resistant to heating it is

477
00:21:07,860 --> 00:21:05,140
somewhat challenging to manipulate in

478
00:21:10,380 --> 00:21:07,870
the construction process that difficulty

479
00:21:12,720 --> 00:21:10,390
has forced this team to come up with

480
00:21:15,120 --> 00:21:12,730
innovative proprietary sewing and

481
00:21:18,180 --> 00:21:15,130
manufacturing procedures to outfit the

482
00:21:20,070 --> 00:21:18,190
high ad once the outer shell is married

483
00:21:23,070 --> 00:21:20,080
with the internal structure you have a

484
00:21:25,560 --> 00:21:23,080
very strong heat resistant cover that

485
00:21:27,930 --> 00:21:25,570
can be folded and packed to fit within a

486
00:21:30,240 --> 00:21:27,940
rocket shroud and the combination of all

487
00:21:32,240 --> 00:21:30,250
the parts together now make flying to

488
00:21:36,330 --> 00:21:32,250
Mars and other planets with atmospheres

489
00:21:38,340 --> 00:21:36,340
much more viable this technology is not

490
00:21:41,100 --> 00:21:38,350
just an incremental advancement in our

491
00:21:44,220 --> 00:21:41,110
entry capabilities for NASA this is

492
00:21:45,990 --> 00:21:44,230
actually a leap we're actually making a

493
00:21:48,630 --> 00:21:46,000
big change in what our capabilities are

494
00:21:50,900 --> 00:21:48,640
it's a new way of doing business

495
00:21:53,820 --> 00:21:50,910
actually being able to have very large

496
00:21:55,290 --> 00:21:53,830
entry vehicles changes the way that

497
00:21:58,020 --> 00:21:55,300
these payloads come into the atmosphere

498
00:21:59,850 --> 00:21:58,030
we're looking at actually using high ads

499
00:22:02,310 --> 00:21:59,860
the inflatable decelerator technology to

500
00:22:05,290 --> 00:22:02,320
recover launch assets both first stage

501
00:22:06,580 --> 00:22:05,300
recovery as well as second stage

502
00:22:08,680 --> 00:22:06,590
so that we're not really talking about

503
00:22:10,540 --> 00:22:08,690
these vehicles being the same shape that

504
00:22:12,310 --> 00:22:10,550
you would have coming into an atmosphere

505
00:22:13,540 --> 00:22:12,320
you were delivering a payload but

506
00:22:15,730 --> 00:22:13,550
actually maybe something a little bit

507
00:22:17,590 --> 00:22:15,740
elongated that conforms wall to the

508
00:22:19,990 --> 00:22:17,600
launch asset that you want to recover

509
00:22:23,130 --> 00:22:20,000
that gives it more of a gliding reentry

510
00:22:25,990 --> 00:22:23,140
or a gliding capability back to earth

511
00:22:28,270 --> 00:22:26,000
whether it's a fair expectation or not

512
00:22:31,060 --> 00:22:28,280
those of us in the public have come to

513
00:22:33,130 --> 00:22:31,070
expect NASA and its partners to always

514
00:22:36,280 --> 00:22:33,140
come through with solutions to overcome

515
00:22:40,360 --> 00:22:36,290
challenges the brilliant team working on

516
00:22:42,490 --> 00:22:40,370
high ad has done just that the ideas and

517
00:22:44,620 --> 00:22:42,500
processes they have developed have

518
00:22:47,020 --> 00:22:44,630
pushed through some big barriers and

519
00:22:50,020 --> 00:22:47,030
will almost certainly help us land on

520
00:22:52,510 --> 00:22:50,030
far-off places like Mars while also

521
00:22:54,970 --> 00:22:52,520
being used back here in our own

522
00:22:58,150 --> 00:22:54,980
atmosphere on earth it just goes to show

523
00:23:00,820 --> 00:22:58,160
that virtually any technological issue

524
00:23:03,340 --> 00:23:00,830
can be overcome when you put the right

525
00:23:11,410 --> 00:23:03,350
team of people on the problem and this