When the first astronauts land on Mars, they will not use a conventional parachute or heat shield that has been used before. Instead, upon impacting the upper Martian atmosphere, a large inflatable saucer-shaped structure will slow their progress. This is the low density supersonic decelerator (LDSD) and, in June, Nasa will perform the latest test of this groundbreaking technology - a vital next step in the journey to Mars. Scroll down for a video from last year's test . In June, the vehicle will be sent into near-space from the Navy's Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kauai, Hawaii, to test its re-entry capabilities into Earth's atmosphere . Tomorrow at 9am to 10am PDT (5pm to 6pm GMT), Nasa will perform a spin test of the vehicle at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California before transporting it to Hawaii. The event will be streamed live on Ustream, and viewers will be able to ask questions on Twitter using the #AskNasa hashtag. Ultimately, the vehicle will be sent into near-space from the Navy's Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kauai, Hawaii, in June. 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 3.5 it will be capable of slowing it down to Mach 2, where a regular parachute can then deploy. Last June, to simulate the Martian atmosphere on Earth, the LDSD was lifted to a height of 23 miles (37km) by a high-altitude balloon. A small rocket then launched it 11 miles (18km) higher. As this point the LDSD inflated around a larger saucer-shaped object, bringing it safely back to land in open water. ‘The LDSD crosscutting demonstration mission will test breakthrough technologies that will enable large payloads to be safely landed on the surface of Mars, or other planetary bodies with atmospheres, including Earth,’ Nasa said in a statement. ‘The technologies will not only enable landing of larger payloads on Mars, but also allow access to much more of the planet's surface by enabling landings at higher-altitude sites.’ Esessentially parachute, the LDSD is large - 15ft (4.6 metres) wide and weighing 7,000lbs (3.200kg) - in order to cope with the atmosphere of Mars. Earth has a reasonably thick atmosphere, so we can parachute relatively easily to the surface. But the Martian atmosphere is much thinner, so parachutes need to be much larger in order to create sufficient drag to land safely. The system is designed to land large vehicles on the surface of Mars. The main structural body of the second flight test vehicle in Nasa's LDSD project is seen during its assembly in a cleanroom at Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.The flight test for this vehicle is planned in June of this year. It will eventually be used to take humans to the surface of Mars . A successful test took place in June 2014, shown, when the LDSD successfully re-entered part of Earth's atmosphere. It showed that while some aspects of the vehicle worked, others - like its parachutes - needed further development following the test . The Curiosity rover, for example, needed an innovative landing method due to its size but this technology wasn’t ready yet. Instead, to land the rover on the surface Nasa developed a landing mechanism that used rockets known as the ‘sky crane’. The LDSD, however, is an alternative way to reach the surface that will be able to land things that are bigger than Curiosity, such as equipment for a manned mission or humans themselves. There will be four tests of the LDSD in total before mission managers decide whether to employ it on future Mars missions. The tests are taking place over the Hawaiian island of Kauai in June. In a test last year, in June 2014, the vehicle was partially successful - although a parachute was torn apart when it deployed, owing to the high forces. Moment of truth: The parachute is shown here unfurling on the right. The balloon on the left was used to pull the 200lb (90kg) parachute from its sturdy canister . The LDSD, shown, is an alternative way to reach the surface that will be able to land things that are bigger than Curiosity, such as equipment for a manned mission or humans themselves . Carried as payload during the shakeout flight were two technologies scheduled to be tested next year aboard this same type of test vehicle. The Supersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator (SIAD) is a large, doughnut-shaped air brake that deployed during the flight, helping slow the vehicle from 3.8 to two times the speed of sound. The second, the Supersonic Disksail Parachute, is the largest supersonic parachute ever flown. It has more than double the area of the parachute which was used for the Mars Science Laboratory mission that carried the Curiosity rover to the surface of Mars. 'A good test is one where there are no surprises but a great test is one where you are able to learn new things, and that is certainly what we have in this case,' said Ian Clark, principal investigator for LDSD at Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, after the test. And Nasa will be hoping to learn just as much on their latest attempt at using the LDSD.
Nasa will fly its new heat shield from Hawaii in a couple of months . Tomorrow it will perform a spin-test of the new technology . It is known as the low density supersonic decelerator (LDSD)
Nasa says it could one day be used to take humans onto Mars .