(Image credit: ESA-SJM Photography)

Is it cake? No, but it's baked to perfection.

What is it?

Sitting wrapped up neatly in a donut-shaped bag sits a parachute measuring nearly 115 feet (35 meters) across and weighing 163 pounds (74 kilograms) — and it has to be baked in an oven to get prepared for Mars.

But don't worry, the parachute was given time to cool down and rest after baking (we're serious).

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This parachute, made primarily of nylon and Kevlar fabrics, was created for the European Space Agency's ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover , expected to launch to the Red Planet in 2028.

Wondering why this Mars-bound parachute needs to be baked? Well, it's part of a mission-critical step known as planetary protection .…