NASA recently launched the Loftid to low-Earth orbit (LEO) and brought down its data vessel to the Pacific Ocean as part of its test launch to ensure that all systems are working for the device. The Loftid will act as a heat shield for humans in the future Mars mission which will have astronaut crews step foot on the Red Planet for the first time, ensuring protection from the Sun and other cosmic elements.
The Loftid is an inflatable device that pops up to reveal a massive shade and protect the people underneath it from cosmic exposure.
NASA Loftid's Test Launch on the Low-Earth Orbit
NASA's Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator, also known as the LOFTID, recently went on a test run that launched the inflatable heat shield into orbit, as part of its research. The NASA LOFTID team is now on its way to analyzing the data it generated from the mission until it expanded to its full glory in orbit.
The team aims to use the Loftid heat shield for a future mission when humans arrive on Mars, something that will protect them from direct sunlight and other cosmic rays.
Unlike the Earth, Mars has no protective coverings similar to the ozone layer, and other known coverings which protect the home planet from harmful and unseen elements from outer space.
Loftid Went Back and Landed on the Pacific
According to NASA's blog, the Loftid mission has recorded its data from launch and deployment to the low-Earth orbit, and a vessel carrying this information recently made a splash in the Pacific ocean. The LOFTID team recovered said data and is on its way to assess and study what it brings to deliver more information regarding the heat shield, for its future use.
NASA and its Mars Mission
Mars is an entirely different planet from the Earth, and it is because it does not harbor any present life forms due to its harsh living conditions, where habitants would be immune to the environment it upholds. Mars is unlike the Earth with many protections from otherworldly elements like the Sun with the ozone, as well as the magnetic field that protects the planet from cosmic rays.
The ESA's SWARM recently shared the audio of the Earth's magnetic field, something which humans would not hear in a normal setting, one that is famous for offering the world its protection.
In the future Mars mission, there would come a time when agencies would include humans to step foot on the planet for the first time, and seeing as there is not much protection on it, there would be risks.
For now, the space agencies like NASA, ESA, JAXA, and others in partnership with each other are looking into developing technology that would offer further protection for astronauts for their future ventures.
The Loftid is only one of the many technologies that NASA is developing in preparation for the future Mars mission that humans will take on when the time is right. The significant-tech it is developing is monumental for the Mars mission which would be the attempt to visit other planets and see if it is capable of harboring possible dwellers.
Read also: NASA's Challenger Uncovered in Ocean Floor: Biggest Section Found 35 Years Since Launch Disaster
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Written by Isaiah Richard
