NASA to launch 2 more choppers to Mars to help return rocks

By MARCIA DUNN
AP Aerospace Writer

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA is launching two more mini helicopters to Mars in its effort to return Martian rocks and soil samples to Earth. The space agency announced the plan Wednesday. NASA’s Perseverance rover has been collecting samples and will transport them to the rocket that will launch them off the red planet a decade from now. Perseverance has already gathered 11 samples. If the rover breaks down, the two helicopters being launched later this decade would load the samples onto the rocket. The choppers will be modeled after NASA’s successful Ingenuity, which has made 29 flights since arriving with Perseverance at Mars last year.