Flying saucers will not be the preserve of aliens after all. NASA is building its own flying saucer, which is intended to be used as a test vehicle for future flights to Mars.
NASA's flying saucer is called the LDSD (Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator), it uses rockets for its movement and its assembly was completed at the US Navy's Pacific Missile Range Facility in Hawaii.
The LDSD is set to perform three weeks of tests and simulations before its maiden flight on June 3. The purpose of the program, which was completed under the supervision of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, is to explore innovative technologies that could be used in missions to Mars.
The June test flight will involve a balloon carrying the test vehicle to an altitude of 36.576 kilometers (120,000 feet). There, the vehicle will be left in a vacuum and the onboard booster rockets will take over to carry it to an altitude of 54.864 kilometers (180,000 feet), achieving an acceleration of the order of Mach 4. At this altitude, the LDSD will perform a series of automated tests.
The specific altitudes for carrying out the tests have been chosen as the upper layers of the stratosphere are the only ones that most closely resemble the thin atmosphere conditions of the Red Planet.
According to NASA announcements, this vehicle will pave the way for future manned flights to Mars, while also allowing the transport of large volumes of cargo and materials necessary for such a mission.
It is worth noting that the American space agency has plans ready for two more spacecraft, in the form of a flying saucer, which are expected to be tested, again from Hawaii, in the summer of 2015.
