mo4ch:>Where no chopper has gone before: NASA to send a helicopter to Mars | Mo4ch News

Not content with rovers, NASA’s next Mars mission will include a helicopter that will be the first human craft to fly around another planet and could potentially pave the way for groundbreaking exploration on Mars and beyond.The Mars 2020 Rover will land on the Red Planet in early 2021 with a small helicopter on board, to test if it will be able to fly. Until now, the only man-made objects that have visited Mars are rovers, orbiters and landers.The helicopter mission will last 30 days and will consist of five flights, some of which will simply be hovering tests, just 10 feet off the ground.Also on rt.comSpace herpes? Long missions risk activating virus, NASA warns astronautsShould the first mission be successful, it could open up a whole new world of potential for planetary exploration. Currently, robotic explorers have been limited to the red planet’s surface, and can’t get to every nook and cranny.“We envision helicopters opening doors to new types of exploration on Mars,” Håvard Gr…