A parachute is a device which is designed to slow descent by providing drag, causing the falling object to slow down. Parachutes are used for both people and cargo, and they have a range of applications, from recreational parachuting to delivery of humanitarian relief in areas which can only be reached by aircraft. There are also a number of different types of parachutes designed for specific applications.

Credit for the discovery of the parachute belongs to the Chinese, who were apparently making them as early as the ninth century BCE to use as toys. The trend spread to the Middle East, and by the Middle Ages, several variations on the parachute had been realized on the drawing pads of inventors, with many people understanding that the parachute could be a key to manned flight. In the late 18th century, the modern form of the parachute as we know it was developed.

The basic design of a parachute includes some form of “wing” to provide drag, attached to rigging which firmly secures the parachute on the parachutist or load being delivered. The parachute is folded and rigged in a very specific way so that when a cord is pulled during descent, the parachute unfolds and deploys. Many people use backup parachutes to ensure that the failure of an initial parachute is not fatal.

The earliest parachutes were simple designs of the round or square type. They were carefully packed and worn on the back, and released with the use of a ripcord, distinguishing them from earlier parachute designs and initiating the modern wave of parachute design. By choosing the time of deployment of the chute, people could control their descent with the parachute. However, they couldn't steer with this basic design, which made timing of the deployment critical. Early parachutes were touted as safety devices for people using hot air balloons. This type of parachute is still used in equipment drops.

Over time, more complex designs of the parafoil or ram-air type were developed. These parachutes are made from filled cells of nylon, silk, or other materials and they include rigging which allows the parachutist to steer. Most parachutists use parafoils, because they want to be able to control their descent more effectively: using a parafoil allows you to steer to a specific location on the ground. In fact, flying with a parafoil is a recreational sport in some regions of the world, with participants leaping from great heights or jumping out of aircraft and then steering their way slowly back to ground with a parafoil.

In addition to these two basic types, it is also possible to find drogue parachutes. These parachutes are designed for deployment at high speeds. They are small and narrow, providing less drag than conventional parachutes, but the reduction in drag prevents a drogue from blowing apart when it is deployed at speed. Some parachutists use drogue parachutes as “pilot chutes” to partially slow their descent and trigger the deployment of a secondary chute. Drogues are also used to slow some aircraft and rockets for landings.