What was that secret code on NASA’s Mars Perseverance Parachute?
Date: 01/28/2022
Tactile graphic 1: Perseverance Parachute
Description: Parachute viewed from below, showing patterned segments filled with orange, white, or a number or letter. The code along the outer circle is the coordinates of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. The code on the inner rings reads “DARE MIGHTY THINGS,” with the orange-keyed segments spacing out each word.
Tactile graphic 2, detail: Perseverance Parachute, patterned section enlarged
Description: Detail section of one gore (segment) of the parachute, from the center, out to the letter “D,” showing the white and orange pattern in binary code.
Source: Mars Decoder Ring, JPL website.
Additional related articles: NASA Sent a Secret Message to Mars. Meet the People Who Decoded It., The New York Times, Internet sleuths solve secret message on Perseverance rover’s Mars parachute, Space.com, The inspiring hidden message in the Mars Perseverance rover’s parachute, CNN, Mars Perseverance Entry, Descent, and Landing, NASA website.
ZIP folder contains files for producing tactile graphics on 8.5 x 11-inch paper, landscape:
- PRNs for ViewPlus Columbia / Delta, APH PixBlaster, IRIE BrailleTrac / BrailleSheet;
- PDFs for Swell, Microcapsule or PIAF;
- Reference PDFs with corresponding large print text (not for tactile production).
Printing Instructions and Supported Embossers
How to unzip/uncompress: Windows 10, Windows 8.1, MacOS.
Source: Mars Helicopter Ingenuity Quick Facts, Mars Helicopter Status Updates, Mars Helicopter Ingenuity Fact Sheet (PDF)
