PASADENA, Calif. - NASA is planning to send a tiny autonomous helicopter to Mars on its next rover mission to the red planet.
Friday that the helicopter will be carried aboard the Mars 2020 rover as a technology demonstration to test its ability to serve as a scout and to reach locations not accessible by ground.
The helicopter is being developed at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California.
The craft weighs less than 4 pounds (1.8 kilograms), has a fuselage about the size of a softball and twin, counter-rotating blades that will spin at almost 3,000 rpm -- a necessity in the thin martian atmosphere. Solar cells will charge its lithium-ion batteries.
Flights will be programmed because the distance to Mars precludes real-time commands from Earth.
This week, we announced we'll send a helicopter to Mars, showcased how technology enables exploration, and so much more. Take a look at the stories happening This Week at NASA:
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