Exclusive A European consortium has received €15 million in EU funding to develop an inflatable heat shield designed to recover rocket stages and land spacecraft on Mars.
How to set up a hydroelectric network in ICARUS
The Inflatable Concept Aeroshell for the Recovery of a Re-Usable launcher Stage (ICARUS – because boffins love a tortured acronym) has received €10 million in funding from the European Commission (EC) under the Horizon Europe programme. It is a follow-up to the similar prototypes EFESTO-1 and EFESTO-2, which cost 5 million euros.
It's a relatively simple concept. Instead of carrying a solid rigid heat shield, spacecraft and rocket stages can carry an inflatable heat shield deployed from a compact container to allow components to be safely returned to Earth, or landed on other planets.
Illustration of the inflatable heat shield during re-entry from space – click to enlarge
