NASA was not entirely successful in its second test flight for the Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator (LDSD).
Kimberly Newton, a NASA spokeswoman, told the Associated Press the LDSD released its parachute, but it did not inflate properly. The craft landed in the ocean as planned, but the test flight had to be classified a failure.
NASA is planning a briefing at 1 p.m. ET Tuesday to discuss Monday's test flight and will stream a live audio feed here.
Reaching Mach 4, #LDSD's SIAD deployed & inflated. Chute deployed, but did not inflate. We'll study data from this test to learn & improve.
— NASA Technology (@NASA_Technology) June 8, 2015
"Two advanced decelerator technologies - a supersonic inflatable aerodynamic decelerator and a supersonic parachute - were tested," the space agency said in a statement. "The supersonic inflatable aerodynamic decelerator deployed and inflated. The supersonic parachute also deployed, however, it did not perform as expected. Data was obtained on the performance of both innovative braking technologies, and the teams are beginning to study the data."
The LDSD is designed to land larger and more sensitive cargo on Mars for future missions. NASA hopes the saucer-like craft can one day land larger unmanned robots and possibly astronauts despite the Red Planet's thin atmosphere. The LDSD's next test flight is tentatively set for the summer of 2016.
NASA's next mission to send an unmanned robot to Mars is scheduled to take place some time in 2020, but the space agency will not need LDSD for that. NASA hopes to send astronauts to Mars in the 2030s.
"The LDSD project is one of several cross-cutting technologies NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate is developing to advance the critical technologies required to enable future exploration missions to destinations beyond low-Earth orbit, including an asteroid, Mars and beyond," NASA stated.
