This artist's rendition shows the descent of the MESUR-Pathfinder through the Martian atmosphere. The lander is unreeled on a 100-meter tether below the parachute to reduce the probability that the parachute will cover the lander after touchdown. One second prior to surface impact a set of four airbags (each is attached to a face of the lander and is comprised of three spherical lobes) is inflated using compressed gas. At surface impact, the tether to the parachute is released and the parachute is carried from the lander by the prevailing winds. The airbags deflate to keep the touchdown shock (the heaviest force the lander will be subjected to) below approximately 50 g's, or 50 times the force of Earth's gravity, as the lander tumbles and slows to a stop at the surface. The three petals on the lander open to establish an upright landing configuration, expose the solar arrays for surface operations and to provide the microrover and other instruments access to the Martian surface.
