LDSD test vehicle over Earth. Computer illustration of NASA's Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator (LDSD) test vehicle in flight over the Earth. The LDSD project tests techniques for atmospheric entry on Mars. This vehicle will be used to test an inflatable decelerator and a parachute at high altitudes and speeds over the Pacific Missile Range, Kaua'i, Hawaii. A balloon will lift the vehicle to high altitudes, where a rocket will take it even higher to the top of the stratosphere at several times the speed of sound.