Nasa wants to land the first humans on Mars in 2035, and to do that, it needs the world's toughest parachute. Its latest plan is to use a large inflatable 'flying saucer' that will slow a spacecraft down after piercing through the thin Martian atmosphere. Dubbed the density supersonic decelerator (LDSD), the space agency plans to conduct an ambitious test flight of its design on Wednesday at 1:30pm (5:30pm GMT). The LDSD is unique in its design, using a donut-shaped inflatable decelerator to create atmospheric drag. When attached to the exterior of a capsule travelling at Mach 4 it will be capable of slowing it down to Mach 2, where a regular parachute can then deploy.The saucer is known as the low density supersonic deceleratorThe test flight will take place on Wednesday at 1:30pm ET (5:30 GMT)Inflatable saucer is 5ft (4.6 metres) wide, weighing 7,000lbs (3.200kg)The parachute was torn apart in when it deployed in a flight last year
Last June, to simulate the _ atmosphere on Earth, the LDSD was lifted to a height of 23 miles (37km) by a high-altitude balloon.