Parachute to powered descent

To meet the atmospheric challenges of safe entry, NASA designed the largest and strongest supersonic parachute ever created, weighing only 100 pounds but capable of withstanding more than 65,000 pounds of force. The parachute is deployed with 9G's of force, and the heat shield is detached, allowing the instruments to get accurate navigational measurements to complete the landing.

The parachute will slow the craft significantly -- to about 200 miles per hour, but not enough to touch down safely, so NASA added a third stage of descent assistance: a powered descent.