NASA’s Mars flying saucer will be undergoing ‘spin table test’

NASA’s LDSD or Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator project is preparing to launch its test vehicle in space from the Navy’s Pacific missile Range Facility on Hawaii in June.

This is the second test of LDSD and the first test was conducted on June 28, 2014. The flight was considered a success but the parachute of the vehicle didn’t deploy.

The test vehicle is prepared for shipment to Hawaii in a clean room at NASA’a Jet Propulsion laboratory in Pasadena, California.

It is 3,175 kg or 7000 lb, 5 meter or 15-foot wide.

An hour long event from 9a.m. to 10 a.m. will be broadcasted on March 31, by JPL. During the event the LDSD test vehicle will undergo “spin-table test”.

NASA said in a release, “The LDSD crosscutting demonstration mission will test breakthrough technologies that will enable large payloads to be safely landed on the surface of Mars, or other planetary bodies with atmospheres, including Earth. The technologies will not only enable landing of larger payloads on Mars, but also allow access to much more of the planet’s surface by enabling landings at higher-altitude sites.”