The space agency said its Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator , or LDSD , went up at 8:45 a.m. ( 2:45 p.m . ET ) , carried aloft by a giant balloon on a mission to test landing technologies for a future human mission to Mars . NASA : NASA News : The test appears to have been a success . NEW : The powered flight and descent of the test craft took 30 minutes , NASA says . NASA 's newest spacecraft launched into the skies over Hawaii on a test flight . Safely landing a new spacecraft is crucial for a human mission to succeed .
NASA : NASA News : The test appears to have been a success . NEW : The powered flight and descent of the test craft took 30 minutes , NASA says . NASA 's newest spacecraft launched into the skies over Hawaii on a test flight . Safely landing a new spacecraft is crucial for a human mission to succeed .