NASA's Morpheus lander blasted off the ground Monday from the shuttle landing facility soaring to more than 800 feet during a 97 second free flight trial.

The craft's special sensors controlled the lander for the entire flight -- allowing it to fly, and safely spot a safe landing site on a makeshift lunar surface filled with manmade moon rocks and obstacles.

Morpheus flew some 1,300feet before the sensors guided it to a landing.

The NASA team says this work is expected to pave the way for future landings on an asteroid, Mars or elsewhere in deep space.

The original Morpheus lander crashed in August 2012 during its first experimental test at KSC.