To fly a marshmallow-inspired spacecraft that squishes and bounces with every soft landing

Inflatable Safety Systems

You’ve chosen to imagine a marshmallow-inspired spacecraft that squishes and bounces during a soft landing. You might want to learn more about inflatable safety systems, which use air-filled structures to cushion impacts and protect what is inside. Just try not to take a bite out of your inflatable ship; it’s not actually made out of marshmallows!

Fun Facts:

In 1997, Mars Pathfinder hit Mars inside giant airbags, bounced about 15 times, and flew as high as 50 feet after its first bounce.
NASA’s LOFTID inflatable heat shield survived a trip back through Earth’s atmosphere at more than 18,000 miles per hour.
ZF built an experimental airbag that inflates on the outside of a car before a side crash happens.

Inflatable Safety Systems

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This scenario explores inflatable safety systems, which use air-filled parts or cushion impacts for protection. Airbags can squash during an impact instead of letting harder parts take the hit. NASA used huge airbags to bounce Mars Pathfinder safely onto Mars, and engineers test inflatable spacecraft parts that slow vehicles during dangerous descents. A future ship could use similar ideas for softer, springier landings. Just try not to take a bite out of your inflatable ship; it’s not actually made out of marshmallows!

Fun Facts:

In 1996, a giant inflatable antenna unfolded in space to about the size of a tennis court.
Mars Pathfinder’s airbags inflated about 330 feet above Mars before the spacecraft bounced across the surface.
ZF’s experimental outside-the-car airbag can deploy before a side collision and may reduce injury severity.
NASA’s LOFTID heat shield inflated in space, then survived reentry and splashed into the Pacific Ocean.
Modern car airbags can fill in less than one-twentieth of a second when a crash triggers them.

Discussion Question:

What would you add to make a squishy spacecraft land even more safely?

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Physical Build:

Make a tiny landing capsule using a paper cup or small box. Wrap it with different soft materials, such as cotton, sponges, crumpled paper, or bubble wrap. Drop it gently onto a tray and see which design squishes, bounces, and protects the capsule best. Then redesign your landing cushion using what you learned.

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Digital Build:

With an adult, ask ChatGPT:

“Invent three ways a soft spacecraft could cushion itself when landing on another planet.”

Choose one idea, change it to make it your own, then draw or build a model showing exactly which parts squish, inflate, or bounce.

or a giraffe leg-inspired ship that lowers itself gently to the ground on tall, bendy legs?

Giraffe-Leg Ship

Planetary Landing Systems

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You’ve chosen to imagine a giraffe leg-inspired spacecraft that lowers itself gently on tall, bendy mechanical legs. You might want to learn more planetary landing systems, like sky crane landings, where a flying descent system carefully lowers a spacecraft toward the ground. Just make sure those extra-tall landing parts don’t accidentally step on anyone’s Mars rocks!

Fun Facts:

NASA’s Viking landers reached Mars in 1976 on three landing legs built to help absorb the shock of touchdown.
NASA’s Curiosity rover became the first Mars rover to land using the sky crane maneuver in 2012.
Perseverance used a sky crane in 2021, hanging beneath its descent stage on cables before its wheels touched Mars.

Planetary Landing Systems

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This scenario explores planetary landing systems. Energy-absorbing legs can bend, compress, or crush in controlled ways during touchdown. A sky crane works differently: a rocket-powered stage hovers above the ground while lowering a rover on cables. NASA created that approach because large rovers such as Curiosity were too heavy for the airbag system used by earlier missions. Future spacecraft might use sensors and adjustable legs to balance on uneven rocks, slopes, or soft soil. Just make sure those extra-tall landing parts don’t accidentally step on anyone’s Mars rocks!

Fun Facts:

NASA’s Viking landers had three legs, and crushable material inside them helped soak up landing energy.
The MASCOT asteroid lander could actually hop by swinging a small metal arm inside its body.
The Philae comet lander had screws in its three feet and harpoons meant to keep it from bouncing back into space.
Apollo 11 had 67-inch feeler rods hanging below three landing feet to tell the astronauts when the Moon was close enough to touch.
Perseverance used cameras and a map to recognize dangerous rocks and craters while choosing a safer landing spot.

Discussion Question:

How would you design bendy legs that can land on rocks, slopes, or soft sand?

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Physical Build:

Build a spacecraft with tall landing legs using a small box, straws, cardboard strips, tape, and paper fasteners. Make joints so the legs can bend, then test your ship on books, crumpled paper, or blocks that create uneven ground. Change the length, angle, or number of joints until your spacecraft can stand steadily in several different places.

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Digital Build:

With an adult, ask ChatGPT:

“Design a spacecraft with tall hinged legs that can land on three very different planets.”

Compare how the legs change for each world. Then invent your own fourth version and draw or build the landing system.