Foreign media such as CNET reported on the 28th (local time) that NASA is planning to send two additional small helicopters to Mars to bring rock samples taken from Mars to Earth.
Two helicopters will be key components of a mission to retrieve rock samples from craters as future examples, NASA said on the 28th.
The Mars rover Perseverance, which landed on Mars earlier last year, is currently exploring the crater delta terrain as an example. It’s a great place to find traces of ancient microbes, and Perseverance will collect rock samples from the area and bring them back to Earth.
Perseverance is currently collecting samples of igneous rocks and putting them in tubes for safe storage.
Initially, the Martian rock sample collection project was to involve a separate rover, which would require its own lander. The idea was that the rover would take a sample of the rock and deliver it to the lander, and then the spacecraft would retrieve it and bring it back to Earth.
However, instead of sending a separate rover to Mars during the mission concept design phase, NASA changed its plan to have the currently active Perseverance Rover collect samples and deliver them to the spacecraft.
These small helicopters will be deployed when persistence is difficult to deliver rock samples.
“The conceptual design phase is the phase in which all aspects of the mission plan are under a microscope,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, NASA deputy director. “There are several important and beneficial changes to the plan. Its success and the incredible performance of Mars helicopters.”
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The additional helicopter to be sent to Mars is an improved version of the Injury already on Mars, equipped with wheels and robotic arms to lift rock samples from the ground. Currently active on Mars, Ingenuity has successfully completed its 29th flight from Mars.
NASA plans to send a lander near the Perseverance Rover in 2030 to receive Martian rock samples and return to Earth around 2033.