I have worked as a consultant for many years on UAS projects. If you could be more specific as to payload/equipment, perhaps I/we could be more help. I have seen a project that resembles what you may be describing. In the late 90's, a group of UT students brought out a 1 meter square fine nylon"screen" in a pvc pipe frame to my dropzone and asked/hired a couple of skydivers to freefall with it. Never heard the results, but did see some very small spiders w/web and a grasshopper in the screen. I could see the problems w/ that method, took several thousand feet for the skydivers to get it stable (huge drag). The "vertical sample" being the biggest problem to sort out. Contamination from close to ground during landing. Loss of material if not handled properly by the skydiver landing with it (turned backwards) ect... More details would be helpful.

Brooks

BTW, my wife is a LSU '90 grad, CJ degree