Unmanned helicopter likely to join India’s second space odyssey to Mars

NASA's Mars Helicopter, a small, autonomous rotorcraft, touched down on the red planet in February 2021. NASA/AFP

India is gearing up for its second trip to Mars, but the mission is also likely to carry along a hardy helicopter that will buzz through the wafer-thin atmosphere of an alien world.

Jayadev Pradeep, a scientist with India’s government-run Space Physics Laboratory, told a recent webinar that a space drone planned for a Mars mission will carry payloads for the planet’s aerial exploration.