Nasa Mars launch: Space agency to head to red planet in search of alien life

Nasa is sending a rover to Mars in the hope of finding evidence of alien life. The next-generation Perseverance rover will liftoff from Florida's Cape Canaveral before arriving at the red planet on Friday, where it look for traces of life that could once have been present on our nearest neighbour. The space agency's mission – which has cost $2.4 billion – will launch at 7.50am local eastern time, or 12.50pm in the UK. The car-sized six-wheeled robotic rover, which will launch atop an Atlas 5 rocket from the Boeing-Lockheed joint venture United Launch Alliance, also is scheduled to deploy a mini helicopter on Mars and test out equipment for future human missions to the fourth planet from the sun. The weather forecast from the Air Force's 45th Weather Squadron put chances of an undisturbed liftoff at 80 percent, reporting a slim chance that thick clouds would form over the launchpad and delay the launch.