According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), public must watch next test flight of its flying saucer-shaped vehicle. The United States space agency stated that the vehicle is capable of landing heavy payloads on the Red Planet.

While providing information about the vehicle Low Density Supersonic Decelerator (LDSD), the space agency stated that the vehicle is 15 feet wide and its weight is more than three tons. LDSD has a two-part breaking system which contains an inflatable braking shield and a huge parachute.

The braking shield, which is called the supersonic inflatable aerodynamic decelerator (SIAD-R), has been designed to unfold and inflate to increase size of a spacecraft. The vehicle deploys the 33.5-metre wide Supersonic Ring Sail Parachute after slowing down under the brake shield, as per the agency.

According to a report, the technology used in the vehicle was not only designed to enable heavy payloads to land on the surface of Mars, but also allowed the vehicle to land at higher-altitude sites of the planet. As per the space agency, the technology will allow the spacecraft to explore much more of the planet’s surface.

Until now, car-sized robotic rover Curiosity is the heaviest vehicle that has been exploring the Red Planet while staying at the surface of the planet. The rover had landed on the surface of Mars after employing a complex landing system that included a supersonic parachute and a sky crane.

According to NASA, it has been planning to land even bigger payloads to Mars. To do so, the agency gas been developing a technique for landing system that can allow the agency to land payloads of about 40,000 kg on the Red Planet’s surface. According to the reports, the space agency has been looking forward to use atmospheric drag as a solution.