Curiosity rover`s parachute on Mars flaps in the wind

Washington: Photos from NASA`s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has shown how the parachute that helped the Curiosity rover land on Mars last summer has subsequently changed its shape on the ground.

The images were obtained by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

Seven images taken by HiRISE between Aug. 12, 2012, and Jan. 13, 2013, show the used parachute shifting its shape at least twice in response to wind.

Researchers have used HiRISE to study many types of changes on Mars.

Its first image of Curiosity`s parachute caught the spacecraft suspended from the chute during descent through the Martian atmosphere.

ANI