Probes sent to Mars usually use a soft landing system that causes them to bounce several times before coming to a standstill. But Nasa needs to be more accurate when it comes to putting humans on the red planet, and it is hoping Space X's Falcon 9 rocket could help. The space agency recently teamed up with Elon Musk's firm to record thermal footage of the Falcon 9 rocket as its first stage pulled away and burned through the atmosphere. Scroll down for video Nasa recently teamed up with Elon Musk's firm to record thermal footage (left) of the Falcon 9 rocket (pictured left at launch) as its first stage pulled away and burned through the atmosphere
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Footage captured Falcon 9 rocket as its first stage fell back to Earth
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First stage is the part that is ignited at launch and is later discarded
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Its descent back to Earth presents Mars-like conditions, says Nasa
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Agency will analyse data to help understand how to land on Mars
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Nasa says it is hoping to send humans to the red planet by 2030
Currently, after delivering their payloads into orbit, booster rockets tumble back toward @placeholder and essentially explode mid-air before crashing into the sea.