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NASA tests 'flying saucer' to land on Mars
Topic Started: Jun 28 2014, 06:22 PM (196 Views)
CJ
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A very minor case of serious brain damage

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-27799129

The US space agency (Nasa) is set to test what looks every inch like a flying saucer.

In reality, the Low Density Supersonic Decelerator (LDSD) is a demonstrator for the type of technologies humans will need to land on Mars.

The LDSD will be deployed from a high-altitude balloon off Hawaii.

It will trial a new type of parachute and an inflatable Kevlar ring that can help slow down a spacecraft as it approaches the Red Planet's surface.

Nasa says it is trying to raise the current maximum mass that can be put on Mars from 1.5 tonnes to something nearer the 20-30 tonnes a human mission might require.



Interesting - I did mention in a topic a few days ago that we didn't have technology capable of landing humans safely on Mars (neither parachutes nor the system from the lunar module would do it), so it's good to see that they've found a system that might work!
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Hedgehog121
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Zero Revolution
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King Zero

Interesting, I really hope this is sent to Mars at some point soon. But it'll likely be years.
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Mozzie
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Socially Confused

Funny how they test things that they may have already achieved in the passed.
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