Sky Crane

    Even after th parachute has slowed down the vehicle, it still falls to the ground at 80 miles per hour, so the sky crane was created to slow down the descent .The sky crane was designed to hover while a tether lowered Curiosity to the ground.

1. The heat shield drops from the shell.

2. The sky crane separates from the outer cruise stage shell.

3. The sky crane powers up its rockets.

4. While it hovers, the sky crane slowly lowers Curiosity onto Mars.

5. When two seconds pass after the rover touches the ground, several pyros ( explosive bolts ) detonate to activate cable cutters.

6. When the cable cutter releases the tether the sky crane flies far away from Curiosity.

Parachute

    After the rover enters Mars' athmosphere, a supersonic parachute 51 feet in diameter expands to slow the rover down. This parachute is over 165 feet ( 50 meters ) long with more than 80 suspension lines. It can generate up to 65,000 pounds of drag force. Drag force is the measure of how much air resistance is applied.