NASA on Friday released imagery from a test run of its Morpheus prototype, which it says demonstrates it can land unmanned spacecraft on harsh planetary terrain in the dark.
The test, NASA said, was conducted Wednesday at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA says its hazard detection system, “assisted by three light detection and ranging (lidar) sensors, located obstacles—such as rocks and craters—and safely landed on the lunar-like hazard field a quarter mile away from the NASA Center.”
“These new capabilities could be used in future efforts to deliver cargo to planetary surfaces,” NASA said.
More Must-Reads From TIME
- The Case for Mediocrity
- How Russia Is Recruiting Cubans to Fight in Ukraine
- Paul Hollywood Answers All of Your Questions About The Great British Baking Show
- Meet the 2023 TIME100 Next: the Emerging Leaders Shaping the World
- Oprah and Arthur C. Brooks: How to Separate Work From Your Identity
- How Canada and India's Relationship Crumbled
- You Don’t Have to Like Wrestling to Love Netflix’s Excellent Wrestlers
- The Most Anticipated Books, Movies, TV, and Music of Fall 2023
- Want Weekly Recs on What to Watch, Read, and More? Sign Up for Worth Your Time