"Flying Saucer" Scheduled to Plummet Towards Hawaii

NASA is scheduled to plummet a flying saucer-like test vehicle through the sky above the Pacific, right off the coast of Hawaii early next month.

According to NASA, the "flying saucer," called the Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator (LDSD), was designed to test equipment meant to land large payloads on Mars.

In June, the LDSD will be hauled by balloon to an altitude of 120,000 feet. From there, the balloon will detach and a single propulsion rocket will kick in to bring the saucer to Mach 4 speeds (flying more than 1300 meters-per-second) and reach the near-space altitude of 180,000 feet from sea-level, according to a recent NASA announcement.

Why so high?

"The upper layers of Earth's stratosphere are the most similar environment available to match the properties of the thin atmosphere of Mars," according to NASA.

Testing designs in these circumstances will help NASA engineers better prepare space technology for the "delivery of the supplies and materials needed for long-duration missions to the Red Planet."

This is all part of an effort by NASA to better pave the way for human exploration of Mars.

Once the LDSD reaches ideal heights on its projected test day (June 3), it will begin to free fall, simulating landing conditions for automated cargo landers like the prototype Morpheus falling towards the Red Planet.

In this first free fall, NASA reports that the testing craft will deploy the Supersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator (SIAD) - an inflatable Kevlar tube designed to catch wind drag and stabilize free-fall. Once the test craft slows to adequate speeds, the Supersonic Disk Sail Parachute (SDSP) will also deploy - testing a new class of landing parachutes for the first time in decades.

NASA has been putting more and more efforts towards its goal of planetary landings ever since its International Space Station Shuttle program was halted in 2011. Since then, the Russian space program and private contractors like SpaceX have been left to pick up the slack as NASA reallocates its funding towards a dream of one day sending men to Mars.

You can watch the balloon launch and test craft decent live via online streaming.

Earlier this week, NASA successfully tested its Hazard Detection System for automated landing, allowing cargo landing crafts like the Morpheus to land where it is most ideal, rather than where it is most safe for the craft.