The AP reports that NASA “is launching two more mini helicopters to Mars in its effort to return Martian rocks and soil samples to Earth.” Under the plan, “NASA’s Perseverance rover will do double duty and transport the cache to the rocket that will launch them off the red planet a decade from now.” The rover “already has gathered 11 samples with more rock drilling planned.” The most recent sample “holds the greatest promise of containing possible evidence of ancient Martian life, said Arizona State University’s Meenakshi Wadhwa, chief scientist for the retrieval effort.” The planned mini helicopters “will be modeled after NASA’s successful Ingenuity, which has made 29 flights since arriving with Perseverance at Mars early last year.”
Full Story (Associated Press)
