ExoMars capsule in the Göttingen wind tunnel
ExoMars capsule in the Göttingen wind tunnel
The ExoMars re-entry capsule undergoing tests in a wind tunnel at DLR Göttingen. The experiments were performed on behalf of ESA in the High Enthalpy Shock Tunnel, one of Europe’s largest-scale facilities for the study of hypersonic flight and the re-entry of spacecraft. Carbon dioxide flows at a speed of nearly 16,000 kilometres per hour around the model of the landing capsule. This scenario simulates the flight situation of the capsule in the Martian atmosphere at 40 kilometres above the surface. This generally results in test system temperatures of 6000 degrees Celsius – hotter than the surface of the Sun.
