NASA Mars Rover’s Heat Shield Cracks During Test Written 1 May 2018

SPACE reports that the heat shield for NASA’s Mars rover suffered a “fracture during testing recently, but the incident won’t change the mission’s launch date, agency officials said.” The rover is part of NASA’s Mars 2020 mission to search for signs of microbial life and “characterize potentially habitable environments.” Structural damage to the shield’s outer edge occurred during a weeklong test at Lockheed Martin Space’s Denver facility, according to a NASA statement. The Mars 2020 team discovered the fracture April 12. The test was intended to “subject the heat shield to forces about 20 percent greater than those it will experience when it hits the Martian atmosphere for entry, descent and landing operations.” NASA officials said that the heat shield will be repaired so that prelaunch testing can continue. The Mars 2020 mission team will “develop a new heat shield structure over the next year.”
More info (SPACE)