LDSD motor firing. Cedit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
NASA has released footage of a flying saucer intended for Mars landings, as well as other landing missions. NASA has named the system a Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator (LDSD). Launched from Hawaii in June this year, the LDSD was towed by balloon to the edge of space before the motor took the craft soaring to Mach 4. The thin air of the outer atmosphere was used to test the LDSD's capabilities as it is similar to the atmosphere of Mars.
"A good test is one where there are no surprises but a great test is one where you are able to learn new things, and that is certainly what we have in this case." Ian Clark, the LDSD principal investigator at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said in a statement. "Our test vehicle performed as advertised. The SIAD and ballute, which extracted the parachute, also performed beyond expectations. We also got significant insight into the fundamental physics of parachute inflation. We are literally re-writing the books on high-speed parachute operations, and we are doing it a year ahead of schedule."
The LDSD will be able to place larger payloads that the current rovers on the surface of Mars. Together with the James Webb Space Telescope and the next generation Mars rovers currently in development, these are exciting times for new space technology.
