File:JPL - Impact limiter used in impact testing. 355-1394b.jpg

Size of this preview: 395 × 599 pixels. Other resolutions: 158 × 240 pixels | 422 × 640 pixels.

Original file (422 × 640 pixels, file size: 160 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg)

This is a file from the Wikimedia Commons. Information from its description page there is shown below.
Commons is a freely licensed media file repository. You can help.

Summary

Description	English: In October 1965, JPL was working on various methods to enable a spacecraft to safely reach the surface of a planet. One of these was an "impact limiter" that would cushion the impact of landing. Unlike the airbags used by Mars Pathfinder and the Mars Exploration Rovers, this object was not designed to bounce, but to deflate immediately after impact, like an airbag in a car. The prototype impact limiter included a series of Mylar "convexities" or domes, Mylar/nylon webbing, and cords made of music wire. The domes were clear to allow photographs of the payload upon impact. The limiter held a 12.2 pound payload suspended in the middle of the polyhedron. Before the impact limiter was assembled, its components were tested. There was a tensile test of the cords and webbing and a pressure test of one Mylar dome, which failed at 12.5 psi (about 7,000 pounds of force). The photo above shows Sheet Metal Shop technicians J.R. (Jimmy) Kallen (front) and E.A. (Gene) Otto fabricating the prototype. The prototype impact limiter was about five feet in diameter, the largest that could be tested in JPL's vacuum chamber, launched from a pneumatic cannon. See photograph number 355-1387Bc to learn more about the impact tests.
Date	11 October 1965
Source	https://pub-lib.jpl.nasa.gov/docushare/dsweb/View/Collection-115
Author	NASA

Licensing

	This file is in the public domain in the United States because it was solely created by NASA. NASA copyright policy states that "NASA material is not protected by copyright unless noted". (See Template:PD-USGov, NASA copyright policy page or JPL Image Use Policy.)
	Warnings: Use of NASA logos, insignia and emblems is restricted per U.S. law 14 CFR 1221. The NASA website hosts a large number of images from the Soviet/Russian space agency, and other non-American space agencies. These are not necessarily in the public domain. Materials based on Hubble Space Telescope data may be copyrighted if they are not explicitly produced by the STScI.[1] See also {{PD-Hubble}} and {{Cc-Hubble}}. The SOHO (ESA & NASA) joint project implies that all materials created by its probe are copyrighted and require permission for commercial non-educational use. [2] Images featured on the Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) web site may be copyrighted. [3] The National Space Science Data Center (NSSDC) site has been known to host copyrighted content. Its photo gallery FAQ states that all of the images in the photo gallery are in the public domain "Unless otherwise noted."