A compulsively-inflated parafoil was proposed as a favorable way to explore Martian atmosphere. First, the estimation was made on the lift-to-drag ratio, and it revealed that the elimination of the air inlet had an comparable effect on gliding performance to the increased aspect ratio from 3 to 6. Then, the force measurements in a wind tunnel was carried out to validate the effect of the elimination of the air inlet on the gliding ratio. Two kinds of models with the rigid wing and the flexible wing were used, and the results showed that the elimination of the air inlet contributed much to improve the gliding performance. Next, the effect of the internal pressure of the cells on the aerodynamic characteristics were also investigated. The force measurements were made on the flexible wing models in the wind tunnel. As a result, the tendancy was found that the increasing the inner pressure improved the gliding performance.
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