Landers

The 12-minute flight, 100 kilometers to the edge of space and back, was a test of a number of new technologies, including two NASA precision descent and landing sensor systems, which could be used in future landers on the moon and Mars, and are able to intelligently identify and avoid potential hazards on target landing zones.

Scientists believe water on Mars would be briny because past landers and rovers, as well as Martian meteorites, have shown that the planet's surface is salty.