A NASA research plane malfunctioned and had to touch down in Texas without landing gear on Tuesday, sliding across the runway on its belly and sending plumes of flame behind it, a video posted to social media showed.

To help meet that challenge, The University of Texas at Arlington has received a three-year, $750,000 grant from NASA’s MUREP program to develop a new class of impact-resistant materials designed to protect next-generation aircraft during extreme landing or collision events.