---
title: "NASA explores inflatable spacecraft technology"
description: "Engineers have been working to develop an inflatable heat shield could be deployed to slow the craft to enter a Martian atmosphere much thinner than Earth’s."
date: "2015-01-06"
modified: "2015-08-13"
authors:
  - name: "Alex Klokus"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/alex-klokus"
url: "https://futurism.com/nasa-explores-inflatable-spacecraft-technology"
categories:
  - "NASA"
  - "Space"
tags:
  - "space"
---

# NASA explores inflatable spacecraft technology

![](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/inflate.jpg>)

- Such an inflatable heat shield could help a spacecraft reach the high-altitude southern plains of Mars and other areas that would otherwise be inaccessible under existing technology.
- The rings would be filled with nitrogen and covered with a thermal blanket. Once deployed for landing, the rings would sit atop the spacecraft, somewhat resembling a giant mushroom.
- Engineers at Langley have been working on the inflatable technology for about a decade, and believe it is close to being ready for operational use. "If I had the budget and we had the funding to do it, I think we could get as large a scale as needed for humans in five to ten years," Cheatwood said.

### Author social links  
[LinkedIn](<https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexklokus>)