INSIDER
Here’s how NASA’s Perseverance rover will try to land on Mars
Read full article: Here’s how NASA’s Perseverance rover will try to land on MarsOne week from today, NASA will attempt to land its newest rover onto the red planet. This is no easy task, as you’ll see in this short video explaining how NASA will try to stick this landing -- watch above. Read more: NASA launches Mars 2020 Perseverance roverPerseverance was launched successfully back in July from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. The rover is set to land on Mars Feb. 18, 2021 at the planet’s Jezero Crater. The mission has the ambitious goal of returning samples of Mars rock and soil back to Earth.
World isn't ready for discovery of life on Mars, NASA official says
Read full article: World isn't ready for discovery of life on Mars, NASA official saysBut if scientists discover there was once life -- or there is life -- on the Red Planet, will the public be able to handle such an extraterrestrial concept? The agency's Mars 2020 rover, set to launch next summer, will be the first to collect samples of Martian material to send back to Earth. The Mars 2020 rover, along with the European Space Agency's ExoMars rover, will drill into the Martian crust. The surface of the Red Planet is believed to be radioactive, so if there is life on Mars, it likely lives below ground. Mars 2020 will test oxygen production on the planet and monitor Martian weather to evaluate how potential human colonies could fare on Mars.
NASA to send helicopter to Mars
Read full article: NASA to send helicopter to MarsPASADENA, Calif. - Before humans make it to Mars, NASA will send a helicopter to scope out the terrain. Engineers attached a helicopter to the Mars 2020 rover ahead of its launch next summer. And if it flies successfully, it'll be the first aircraft to fly on another planet, NASA said. The solar-powered Mars Helicopter will be safely stowed underneath the rover until it lands at the Jezero Crater, where scientists believe water once flowed. The craft will detach from the rover and explore Mars from the air while the rover collects samples on the ground, NASA said.