NASA Plans To Bring Back Rock Samples From Mars Using Two Space Helicopters 

NASA has changed the program for the delivery of rock samples from Mars and plans to deliver them using two helicopters.

NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) have been working together on a sample return program for the past few years. The original plan was to send the ESA-built Sample Fetch Rover to pick up the samples and move them to the rocket. That, in turn, will deliver them to the Earth Return Orbiter.  However, the design of the rover became too large – it could not fit into the lander.

There are other, more affordable options. The Sample Return Lander is not due to arrive on Mars until 2030, but NASA is confident Perseverance will still be operational by then – after all, the Curiosity rover is still operational almost 11 years after it launched. According to their updated plan, Perseverance will drive up to the lander to deliver 30 rock samples to be loaded onto the rocket.

However, if something goes wrong with Perseverance before then, the lander will land closer to the rover and then backup helicopters will fly in to pick up samples. Although the helicopters are modeled after Ingenuity, they will have small wheels underneath. This will allow them to drive up to the samples sealed inside the tubes and pick them up from the ground where the rover dropped them.