China could use a foldable helicopter to collect samples on Mars

China's Zhurong Mars rover captured this panorama of the Red Planet. Visible in the foreground are the rover's solar panels and communications equipment.

A new journal article outlines the design for a quadcopter that could assist China's mission to collect samples from Mars.

China is aiming to launch an ambitious Mars sample return mission around 2028 or 2030. A presentation by a China National Space Administration (CNSA) official earlier this year also suggested that a helicopter is part of the mission planning.