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Nasa to send two more Ingenuity-like helicopters to collect samples from Mars

The two mini helicopters will help bring cached Martian rock and soil samples to Earth

Vishwam Sankaran
Thursday 28 July 2022 16:44 BST
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NASA’s Perseverance Finds Strange Bundle of String on Mars

Nasa is planning to send two more helicopters to the Red Planet as part of its Mars Sample Return Program.

The American space agency announced on Wednesday that the equipment, based on the design of the Ingenuity helicopter, would help return Martian rocks and soil samples to Earth in a future mission under plan for 2033.

Nasa’s Perseverance rover has so far gathered 11 rock core samples and one atmospheric sample, with its most recent sedimentary rock sample expected to hold evidence of ancient microbial life on the Red Planet.

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