On June 28, NASA successfully test-launched a saucer-shaped craft that could one day be used to transport astronauts to Mars. An enormous helium balloon carried the "Low Density Supersonic Decelerator" 23 miles into the air, where it then got a boost from a rocket engine before an inflatable ring started the craft's deceleration on its return plummet into the Pacific Ocean.
While the Los Angeles Times notes that the craft's final braking component, a 100-foot-wide parachute, frayed and tore as it dropped, scientists said they were very pleased with the first test.
It sounds interesting and all, but wouldn't it be better if you could see the test in action? Now you can. NASA released a high-definition video, below, of the event, narrated by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Ian Clark. The footage is intense, and makes for a science lesson fascinating enough to rustle up long-forgotten astronaut ambitions — check it out for yourself. --Sarah Eberspacher
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Air strikes in the Caribbean: Trump’s murky narco-warTalking Point Drug cartels ‘don’t follow Marquess of Queensberry Rules’, but US military air strikes on speedboats rely on strained interpretation of ‘invasion’
-
Crossword: September 14, 2025The Week's daily crossword puzzle
-
Sudoku medium: September 14, 2025The Week's daily medium sudoku puzzle
-
SpaceX breaks Starship losing streak in 10th testspeed read The Starship rocket's test flight was largely successful, deploying eight dummy satellites during its hour in space
-
Rabbits with 'horns' sighted across Coloradospeed read These creatures are infected with the 'mostly harmless' Shope papilloma virus
-
Lithium shows promise in Alzheimer's studySpeed Read Potential new treatments could use small amounts of the common metal
-
Scientists discover cause of massive sea star die-offSpeed Read A bacteria related to cholera has been found responsible for the deaths of more than 5 billion sea stars
-
'Thriving' ecosystem found 30,000 feet underseaSpeed Read Researchers discovered communities of creatures living in frigid, pitch-black waters under high pressure
-
New York plans first nuclear plant in 36 yearsSpeed Read The plant, to be constructed somewhere in upstate New York, will produce enough energy to power a million homes
-
Dehorning rhinos sharply cuts poaching, study findsSpeed Read The painless procedure may be an effective way to reduce the widespread poaching of rhinoceroses
-
Breakthrough gene-editing treatment saves babyspeed read KJ Muldoon was healed from a rare genetic condition
