Robert Besser
02 Aug 2022, 14:32 GMT+10
WASHINGTON D.C.: As part of its efforts to return Martian rocks and soil samples to Earth, NASA is sending two additional mini-helicopters for use on Mars.
Arizona State University's Meenakshi Wadhwa, chief scientist for the retrieval mission, said the Perseverance rover has already gathered 11 rock and soil samples, with more rock drilling planned. The most recent sample, a sedimentary rock, holds the greatest promise of containing possible evidence of ancient Martian life.
"There's a diversity of materials already in the bag, so to speak, and really excited about the potential for bringing these back," she said, as quoted by the Associated Press.
If Perseverance breaks down, the two helicopters being built and launched later this decade would load the samples onto the return rocket, instead.
The helicopters, weighing just just 4 pounds, will be modeled after NASA's successful Ingenuity helicopter, which has made 29 flights since arriving with Perseverance on Mars in early 2022.
Perseverance's impressive performance on Mars prompted space officials to cancel plans to launch a separate rover, according to NASA officials.
"We have confidence that we can count on Perseverance to bring the samples back, and we have added the helicopters as a backup means," noted Jeff Gramling, director of NASA's Mars sample return program, according to the Associated Press.
NASA is collaborating with the European Space Agency on the retrieval mission.
Get a daily dose of New York Telegraph news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to New York Telegraph.
More InformationZAGREB, Croatia: Authorities have said that a weekend bus crash near Varazdin in Croatia killed 12 passengers and injured 32.The ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: The U.S. will participate in a joint military exercise in mid-October with India, less than 62 miles from ...
SEOUL, South Korea: South Korea has launched a domestically manufactured lunar orbiter that took off from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space ...
MOSCOW, Russia: A leading Russian scientist in the field of hypersonic flight, Dr. Alexander Shiplyuk, has been arrested on suspicion ...
LOS ANGELES, California: During a meeting that was disrupted by protesters this week, the Los Angeles City Council voted to ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: The U.S. Justice Department announced this week that former Puerto Rico governor Wanda Vazquez has been arrested in ...
NEW YORK CITY, New York: A New York Federal Reserve report released this week indicated that Americans are struggling to ...
As Russian forces advanced in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region, volunteers raced against time under deadly fire to convince the last ...
New York [US], August 11 (ANI): The Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Thursday said the Taliban have broken multiple pledges ...
Disagreements over supplying Kiev with long-range rockets for the system cut across party lines, the Daily Beast reportsWhile some US ...
Beijing [China], August 11 (ANI): China's extreme nationalism, including the repeated assertion made under the Xi Jinping regime that the ...
A seven-game winning streak vaulted the St. Louis Cardinals into first place in the National League Central, but their grip ...