By Aazam
The rover named Perseverance that is currently operating on Mars is about to have some of its equipment offloaded
Perseverance landed in Mars' Jezero Crater in February 2021 to search for ancient life and collect samples for Earth
This is a precaution intended to secure the larger Mars sample-return project, which is a joint endeavor of NASA and the European Space Agency. It is the exact opposite of carelessness (ESA)
Perseverance will transport its samples to a NASA lander using a rocket to orbit Mars material
It is currently planned for the lander, Mars rocket, and ESA orbiter to launch between 2027 and 2028
Perseverance is in fine shape, but it's possible that by the time that other equipment reaches the Red Planet, the rover won't be
Two miniature helicopters, each based on Ingenuity, the rotorcraft that Perseverance and the NASA sample-return lander successfully landed on Jezero's floor last year, will be carried by the sample-return lander
Since then, Ingenuity has successfully completed more than 30 flights to the Red Planet
In a couple of months, Perseverance will set up a depot in a location called Three Forks, which Bell described as a "fairly level place
However, the Perseverance team still has some work to complete before they can travel to Three Forks
The other tube holds an "atmospheric sample" of Martian air only, the result of a drilling attempt that failed due to a shockingly brittle rock