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Karman Space & Defense has been selected by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) to design and develop the parachute deployment system, referred to as a mortar, for NASA’s SkyFall mission to Mars.
The mortar is a mission-critical element of SkyFall’s entry and descent sequence. As the spacecraft enters the Martian atmosphere, Karman’s system will deploy a parachute to slow the vehicle before the mission releases three helicopters to study Martian weather patterns and search for subsurface ice deposits.
“Mars is one of the most demanding environments in the solar system, and there are no second chances during entry and descent,” said Jon Rambeau, chief executive officer of Karman Space & Defense. “SkyFall calls for precise, reliable performance at a critical point in the mission. This award reflects our ability to take mission-critical hardware from concept through delivery on an accelerated timeline.”
The award marks the first time Karman will fully design and develop a system for a Mars mission. It builds on the company’s 50-year heritage in space exploration, including actuators, forward bay thrusters and positioning components for the Orion capsule on the Artemis II mission.
Managed by NASA JPL, SkyFall is designed to be the first mission to fly a team of instrument-carrying helicopters on Mars. The rotorcraft will carry JPL-designed ground-penetrating radar to study shallow subsurface ice, a priority for understanding Mars and supporting future human space exploration.
NASA is currently targeting a November 2028 launch window for SkyFall.
