NASA is launching an alien-hunting Mars rover. After Perseverance lands, the first interplanetary helicopter should emerge from its belly.

• NASA is about to send its next rover to Mars: a nuclear-powered robot called Perseverance.
• Perseverance is expected to record the first high-quality video and audio of Mars, drill rock samples that could contain signs of alien life, and deploy the first interplanetary helicopter.
• Here's how NASA's newest Mars rover works.
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NASA is gearing up to launch its next Mars rover: an SUV-sized, nuclear-powered robot decked out in cutting-edge equipment.

Perseverance, the fifth rover the US has sent to Mars, the spacecraft is set to complete tasks that the previous robots could only dream of. The $2.4 billion robot is designed to collect unprecedented video and audio, drill samples of Martian rock and soil for later return to Earth, search for chemical remnants of ancient microbial life, and lay the groundwork for NASA to send astronauts to the red planet.

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NOW WATCH: The Mars 2020 rover started as a pile of aluminum panels that took over 5,000 hours to assemble. Here's how it was made.

See Also:

• A stunning new photo of Saturn reveals the planet's summer and winter in remarkable clarity
• The United Arab Emirates launched a mission to Mars on Sunday. NASA and China are about to follow with their own rovers, an orbiter, and a helicopter.
• Buzz Aldrin peed his pants on the moon and 18 other wild facts you never learned about NASA’s Apollo 11 mission

SEE ALSO: NASA plans to bring astronauts back to Earth in SpaceX's Crew Dragon spaceship on August 2. The process is Elon Musk's biggest worry.

DON'T MISS: The United Arab Emirates launched a mission to Mars on Sunday. NASA and China are about to follow with their own rovers, an orbiter, and a helicopter.

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