For decades, Sandia National Laboratories' National Solar Thermal Test Facility has harnessed the power of the sun to expose aerospace materials to intense heat, replicating the harsh conditions of faster-than-sound flight and atmospheric reentry to ensure the materials' ability to protect the rest of the vehicle. The most recent of these tests is in support of two exciting NASA missions.
The ambitious Mars Sample Return campaign, which is under a complete program review, is a NASA and European Space Agency mission that seeks to deliver Martian rocks to eager Earth-bound scientists. These samples could provide clues as to whether the Red Planet ever hosted life and help prepare for human exploration of Mars. If selected, the Sample Retrieval Lander segment of this mission would land the heaviest payload ever on Mars, including a rocket designed to launch a container of carefully selected samples into Mars' orbit. Recently, NASA engineers tested heat shield materials for the Mars Lander at Sandia.
Click to watch a video of smoke billowing off NASA's heat shield material during a recent test at Sandia National Laboratories' National Solar Thermal Test Facility. Video from another test with audio from the test control tower can be found here
