The test vehicle for NASA's Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator rides on a balloon to high altitudes above Hawaii on June 28, 2014. The Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator Project, or LDSD, tests inflatable and parachute decelerators to slow spacecraft prior to landing and will allow NASA to increase landed payload masses, improve landing accuracy and increase the altitude of safe landing-sites. These new devices represent the first steps on the technology pathway to land humans, habitats and return rockets safely on Mars or other destinations.