Researchers say a simple shift in geometry, inspired by kirigami, produces parachute canopies that open predictable vents and retain aerodynamic properties across sizes — a trait that could simplify design, testing and certification of new descent systems. “The parachute’s behavior doesn’t change even when the size of the device is augmented,” said Frédérick Gosselin, one of the study authors, describing experiments and models that show scalability in performance. The result, the team argues, is a family of parachutes whose drag and stability can be engineered by pattern rather than by painstaking rework for each size.

Kirigami works by cutting slits into a flat sheet so that, when stretched, the material forms regularly spaced openings and three‑dimensional features. Applied to thin membrane parachutes, those controlled slits act like vents and petals whose geometry determines airflow, opening pattern and the canopy’s effective area. In laboratory tests and computational simulations reported by the group, teams changed slit density and orientation to produce different descent rates and lateral motion without altering the basic canopy shape or material.

Beyond the physics of air resistance, the researchers highlight practical advantages. A design that scales reliably means a single manufacturing process can produce parachutes for tiny sensors and much larger payloads with fewer rounds of redesign. That could lower costs for last‑mile parcel delivery by airdrop, speed distribution of supplies in disaster zones and reduce mass and risk for planetary probes where every gram and every millimeter matter. “We would also like to be able to vary the trajectory of descent depending on the payload, so the cargo could be sorted as the parachutes come down to Earth,” the authors wrote, suggesting cluster drops in which different items land in separate zones without powered steering.

The team combined wind‑tunnel tests, drop experiments and numerical fluid‑structure interaction models to validate their claims, according to their account. They observed stable descent modes and reproducible turning behaviors as they altered cut patterns. That blend of empirical and computational work addresses a perennial challenge in aerodynamics: small geometric changes can produce outsized effects. By making the patterns the primary control knob, the group says engineers can predict and tune outcomes more reliably.

Still, key hurdles remain before kirigami parachutes see widespread application. Materials must survive abrasion and UV exposure during storage and deployment; the mechanisms that transition flat canopies into their cut‑patterned shapes must be fail‑safe; and certification regimes for airdrop and aviation safety will require long, conservative testing. In planetary contexts, designs must also meet strict contamination and thermal constraints.

The concept’s ethical and regulatory implications are not purely technical. Steerable airdrops could change logistics and surveillance practices, prompting debates over privacy and control of airspace. On another front, the possibility of low‑cost, steerable descent modules for science could democratize access to atmospheric and surface sampling of other worlds — but would need to be balanced against planetary protection rules designed to prevent biological contamination.

The kirigami parachute work adds a striking example of how centuries‑old craft can seed modern engineering. If the early promise holds under operational testing, it may offer a lightweight, tunable platform for a range of missions on Earth and beyond — provided designers, regulators and society navigate the technical and ethical challenges ahead.