Instead of transporting aliens across the universe (as portrayed in sci-fi films), rocket-powered flying saucers could send the first humans to the surface of Mars. At least, if everything goes ...

principal investigator for the agency's Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator (LDSD) project. [NASA's Inflatable Flying Saucer for Mars Landings (Photos)] You may like How do you keep reusable ...

151; -- A flying saucer could one day help a manned mission to Mars make a gentle landing on the surface of the Red Planet. NASA showed off its Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator today during a ...

JPL Mars Exploration Program architect. Eyewitness News got an up-close look at the decelerator vehicle earlier this summer as it was being assembled at JPL. During the test flight in June ...

The Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator is designed to enable large payloads to be safely landed on Mars. Even as it works out a way to safely land humans on Mars, NASA is developing some of the ...

Technology that could help humanity land heavy hardware on Mars will get an in-space test ... the Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID) craft, a technology demonstrator ...

A new type of heat shield was successfully tested last week, with the hopes this type of inflatable decelerator could be used in the future to land humans and large payloads on Mars, or for ...

NASA is just waiting to see which way the wind is blowing before it sends up a flying saucer to test technologies on Earth that could someday come into play for landings on Mars. The Low-Density ...

NASA suffered a second setback June 8 in its drive to develop entry, descent and landing (EDL) technology for an eventual human landing on Mars, with the failure of a redesigned supersonic ...

"If we want to eventually land a human on the surface of Mars, we realized we need to develop new technologies." The low-density supersonic decelerator, as it's officially known, ascended into the ...

during a flying saucer launch that will try out new technologies for landing on Mars. If conditions improve, the test flight of the flying saucer, known as the Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator ...

But now, after nearly 20 years of work and research—as well as more successful Mars rover landings—Manning says the outlook has vastly improved. "We've made huge progress since 2007," Manning ...