NASA has just conducted the first ever spin test of its newest "flying saucer" slated for future Mars missions in 2030.

This aerodynamic test vehicle is called the Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator (LDSD) and is designed to help NASA scientists and engineers carry scientific payload and even astronauts to Mars in the future. The flying saucer-shaped vehicle measures 15 feet across and weighs 7,000 pounds.

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The spin test was conducted at NASA's lab in La Cañada, Flintridge. During the test, journalists and the public were asked to shield themselves behind bulletproof glass. This specific test was designed to makes sure the spin mechanism of the spacecraft was balanced but the saucer never spun faster than 30 revolutions per minute.

According to Paul Lytal, a NASA engineer working on the project, NASA's trying to make the center of the mass of the craft as close to the spin motor as possible.

In a few weeks, the saucer will be transported to Hawaii. It will be attached to a balloon that will float some 160,000 feet into the atmosphere. Once at this altitude, a rocket will boost it further to 20,000 feet into the thinning stratosphere.

The logic behind this is to simulate the atmosphere on Mars, which is one percent as dense as Earth's. The stratosphere provides the perfect testing environment for the LDSD. Engineers are hoping to understand these new decelarating technologies.

Last June 2014, NASA successfully tested the LDSD using rocket power from the Navy's Pacific Missile Range Facility in Hawaii. Another test will be carried out in a few months.

Mars has a stratosphere than can help vehicles deploy but it can also become unpredictable, according to Kevin Burke, flight systems manager for the LDSD project. This same technology has been used by NASA starting with NASA's Viking probe in 1976 where a parachute design helped the landers and rovers touch down on the Martian surface intact.

NASA will need to test new parachute technology since it plans to land bigger spacecraft on Mars and eventually astronauts so a landing system is pivotal.

Last year, the LDSD had a test flight to try out new, decelerating technologies. The first one was a gigantic parachute measuring 100 feet in diameter and the other was an inflatable inner tube that can increase the size of the LDSD from 15 to 20 feet in a fraction of second to create more drag when it lands.

This inner tube, also known as the Supersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator, was a success. The gigantic parachute was shredded to pieces instantly, however.

Since then, NASA's LDSD team completely redesigned the parachute. Researchers are hopeful that this time around, it will perform better than the original one a few months from now.

TagsIt's Real: NASA Tests New 'Flying Saucer' for Mars, NASA, NASA LDSD, NASA flying saucer, NASA flying saucer spin tests, NASA flying saucer mars, Mars