<p>After a series of weather-related delays, NASA has successfully tested its revolutionary "flying saucer" that will help land heavier payloads on the surface of long-distance planets, including Mars.<br /><br />NASA's Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator (LDSD) project completed its second flight test when the saucer-shaped craft splashed down safely in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of the Hawaiian island of Kauai on Monday.<br /><br />The test vehicle was carried by balloon to about 120,000 feet.<br />After release, an engine took the vehicle to 180,000 feet, where the tests occurred in the thin atmosphere to simulate Mars' atmosphere, the US space agency said in a statement.<br /><br />After reaching a height of 180,000 feet, a doughnut-shaped airbag successfully inflated around the saucer for its descent to earth.<br /><br />A huge parachute, however, only partially opened. The parachute shred on deployment in what NASA engineers described as "partial chute".</p>.<p><br />This flight test was the second of three planned for the project.<br />Last year, an LDSD test in Hawaii was deemed a success by engineers, despite the vehicle's huge parachute apparently failing to deploy properly, according to space.com.<br /><br />The LDSD mission is designed to test entry and descent technology in the form of a donut-shaped airbag and a supersonic parachute that can be deployed while the vehicle is travelling several times the speed of sound.</p>.<p><br />In order to support a human mission to the Red Planet, NASA needs technologies capable of landing between 20 to 30 metric tonnes on the Martian surface.<br /><br />The LDSD supports payloads of two to three tonnes, doubling the current capabilities.<br />The LDSD mission will also allow access to more of the planet's surface by enabling landings at higher-altitude sites.<br /></p>
<p>After a series of weather-related delays, NASA has successfully tested its revolutionary "flying saucer" that will help land heavier payloads on the surface of long-distance planets, including Mars.<br /><br />NASA's Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator (LDSD) project completed its second flight test when the saucer-shaped craft splashed down safely in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of the Hawaiian island of Kauai on Monday.<br /><br />The test vehicle was carried by balloon to about 120,000 feet.<br />After release, an engine took the vehicle to 180,000 feet, where the tests occurred in the thin atmosphere to simulate Mars' atmosphere, the US space agency said in a statement.<br /><br />After reaching a height of 180,000 feet, a doughnut-shaped airbag successfully inflated around the saucer for its descent to earth.<br /><br />A huge parachute, however, only partially opened. The parachute shred on deployment in what NASA engineers described as "partial chute".</p>.<p><br />This flight test was the second of three planned for the project.<br />Last year, an LDSD test in Hawaii was deemed a success by engineers, despite the vehicle's huge parachute apparently failing to deploy properly, according to space.com.<br /><br />The LDSD mission is designed to test entry and descent technology in the form of a donut-shaped airbag and a supersonic parachute that can be deployed while the vehicle is travelling several times the speed of sound.</p>.<p><br />In order to support a human mission to the Red Planet, NASA needs technologies capable of landing between 20 to 30 metric tonnes on the Martian surface.<br /><br />The LDSD supports payloads of two to three tonnes, doubling the current capabilities.<br />The LDSD mission will also allow access to more of the planet's surface by enabling landings at higher-altitude sites.<br /></p>