X-48C front

EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif.--NASA may best be known for its space missions, but out in the Mojave Desert, it also has been working on experimental aircraft and flight research for years.

Indeed, at the Dryden Flight Research Center -- located at Edwards Air Force Base -- the space agency has been working alongside some of the country's leading aerospace companies to try to come up with the next generation of airplanes.

An example is the X-48, an early attempt at what is known as a hybrid wing body.

This is the X-48C, a prototype for the new type of plane.