NASA’s flying saucer passes first test
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.028757
Los Angeles Times : Yesterday at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, NASA demonstrated the spinning capability of its Mars test vehicle. During the test, the 4.5-m-wide, 3200-kg saucer-shaped craft was spun up to 30 rpm to check its balance . The next test will come after the vehicle is shipped to Hawaii, where it will be hoisted to an altitude of 36 km by a giant balloon and then shot high into the stratosphere by a rocket. There, its two-step landing apparatus will be deployed: A large doughnut-shaped tube will inflate, and then a gigantic parachute will be released. Because the density of Earth’s stratosphere is similar to that of Mars’s atmosphere, it serves as a testing ground for new technologies.
