Post-Landing
After the lander comes to a complete stop, the next key
activities are deflation and retraction of the airbags, and opening of the
spacecraft’s petals. Airbag deflation may begin to occur almost immediately
after landing due to leaks in the bags. Each of the airbags has deflation patches
which will be opened to speed up the process. These rip patches are opened by Kevlar
cords inside the bags which are connected to a retraction motor. Additional cords
are attached to other points inside each bag so that the airbags can be retracted after
landing.
Flight software will control how the airbags are retracted. In general, the three airbags on the sides facing away from the ground will be retracted first. Once those bags have been retracted, the petals will be partially deployed so that the lander stands itself right side up. The final airbag on the side originally facing the ground will then be retracted before the petals are fully deployed. If the lander comes to rest on a rock, the entire lander may be tilted, but further maneuvering of the petals can be performed during surface operations to lower the overall tilt of the lander.
Telecommunications during entry should provide significant information about the behavior of the entry, descent and landing subsystem. Key data to be transmitted to Earth include accelerometer measurements and selected atmospheric structure instrument measurements. The Deep Space Network’s 70-meter (230-foot) antenna in Madrid, Spain, will be used to support entry communications.
