A HELICOPTER will take to the skies above Mars in 2020

Nasa intends to study Mars from the sky, with the help of a miniature helicopter. The world first would see the US space agency launch the drone-like craft to Mars in 2020, reaching the red planet in early 2021. Known simply as The Mars Helicopter, the device weighs less than four pounds (1.8 kilograms), and its main body section, or fuselage, is about the size of a softball. It will serve as a proof of concept, demonstrating that airborne drones work well on Mars, and could pave the way for a fleet of the machines. Because of the thin atmosphere on the Red Planet, the helicopter's blades will spin at almost 3,000 rpm, approximately ten times faster than on Earth.