A NASA rover on Mars is tackling a new challenge and climbing to the rim of a crater.

NASA is seeking a faster, cheaper way to bring rock samples from Mars to Earth.

NASA’s groundbreaking Ingenuity Mars Helicopter has concluded its mission on the Red Planet, surpassing expectations and exceeding its planned number of flights, NASA announced Thursday.

A NASA rover on Mars by chance had its microphone on when a whirling tower of red dust passed overhead last year and caught the sound.

NASA's newest Mars rover has completed its first sample grab, tucking away the tube of rock for return to Earth.

NASA's newest Mars rover may have successfully collected its first rock sample for return to Earth, after last month's attempt came up empty.

A 400-pound female loggerhead sea turtle was fatally struck by vehicles on State Road A1A in Brevard County.

NASA's little Mars helicopter has aced its second test flight.

NASA's experimental Mars helicopter has taken flight.

After the flight of NASA’s tiny helicopter was delayed last week, the agency set the date for the first Mars helicopter flight.

NASA has again delayed the Wright Brothers moment for its tiny helicopter on Mars as teams continue to troubleshoot issues ahead of its first flight on another world.

NASA is set to mark a major milestone in its mission on Mars this weekend.

Ingenuity's teams are preparing to fly the helicopter for the first time as soon as April 11.

(NASA/JPL-Caltech via AP)CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – A piece of the Wright brothers’ first airplane is on Mars. NASA’s experimental Martian helicopter holds a small swatch of fabric from the 1903 Wright Flyer, the space agency revealed Tuesday. The helicopter, named Ingenuity, hitched a ride to the red planet with the Perseverance rover, arriving last month. It will mark a "Wright brothers' moment," noted Bobby Braun, director for planetary science at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The swatch made the 300 million-mile journey to Mars with the blessing of the Wright brothers' great-grandniece and great-grandnephew, said park curator Steve Lucht.

This photo made available by NASA was taken during the first drive of the Perseverance rover on Mars on Thursday, March 4, 2021. (NASA/JPL-Caltech via AP)CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – NASA’s newest Mars rover hit the dusty red road this week, putting 21 feet on the odometer in its first test drive. The Perseverance rover ventured from its landing position Thursday, two weeks after setting down on the red planet to seek signs of past life. AdPerseverance — NASA's biggest and most elaborate rover yet — became the ninth U.S. spacecraft to successfully land on Mars on Feb. 18. China hopes to land its smaller rover — currently orbiting the red planet — in another few months.

Gentle wind and a robotic hum might not sound like much to celebrate but those were the first sounds ever recorded on Mars taken by NASA’s Perseverance rover after landing on another world. NASA released the first few recordings taken by the rover that landed on the red planet Thursday following a 300-million-mile journey. “We can sit here now and actually tell you that we have recorded sound from the surface of Mars,” Gruel said after playing one of those recordings. “We actually have gotten requests from instrument teams wanting to turn on the microphone to observe their instrument functioning,” Maki said. Similar to hearing something wrong with mechanics on Earth, NASA teams could do the same on mars.

Following the touchdown on Mars Thursday NASA’s Mars 2020 Perseverance rover team are already getting back images taken during the entry, descent and landing also known as “seven minutes of terror” that happened about 300 million miles away from Earth. [NASA is expected to share more images, including video the Mars landing during a news briefing at 2 p.m. Monday. This image captured by a spacecraft shows NASA's Perseverance rover midair, floating over Mars while hanging from its parachute during the final moments before landing. The first color image from NASA's Perseverance rover taken right after landing on Mars Feb. 18, 2021. The rover is equipped with microphones designed to capture the landing and then the sounds on the ground from Mars.

This Thursday, Feb. 18, 2021 photo provided by NASA shows the Perseverance rover lowered towards the surface of Mars during its powered descent. (NASA via AP)CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The world got its first close-up look at a Mars landing on Friday, as NASA released a stunning picture of its newest rover being lowered onto the dusty red surface. NASA equipped the spacecraft with a record 25 cameras and two microphones, many of which were turned on during Thursday’s descent. It's the ninth time that NASA has successfully landed on Mars __ and the fifth rover. As it did with 2012's Curiosity rover — still roaming 2,300 miles (3,750 kilometers) away — NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter photographed Perseverance descending beneath its massive parachute.

NASA’s Perseverance rover and the first-ever Mars helicopter concluded a 300-million-mile journey Thursday after surviving the landing. 3:55 p.m. Touchdown PerseveranceNASA’s Mars rover Perseverance has successfully landed in Jezero Crater on Mars following a 300-million-mile journey. I’m all in.#CountdownToMars pic.twitter.com/Eilc5Zq3ZW — NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover (@NASAPersevere) February 18, 20213:48 p.m. #CountdownToMars pic.twitter.com/bMsKw5ZEIQ — NASA (@NASA) February 18, 2021“You all should sleep in Friday because you guys have earned it,” Chen said. The chips were then were attached to an aluminum plate on NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover at Kennedy Space Center before launching in July.

Two spacecraft from the United Arab Emirates and China swung into orbit around Mars on successive days last week. AdPerseverance, the biggest, most advanced rover ever sent by NASA, became the ninth spacecraft since the 1970s to successfully land on Mars, every one of them from the U.S. Two older NASA landers are still humming along on Mars: 2012′s Curiosity rover and 2018′s InSight. NASA said that the descent was flawless and that the rover came down in a “parking lot" — a relatively flat spot amid hazardous rocks. Hours after the landing, Matt Wallace, NASA deputy project manager, reported that the spacecraft was in great shape.

[MORE: NASA is about to land the first tiny helicopter on Mars]With so much money flowing into the new Perseverance rover you can’t help but wonder, could the mission fail? The rover’s landing has been dubbed “seven minutes of terror.”“Entry, Descent landing is the most critical and most dangerous part of the mission success is never assured. And that’s especially true when we’re trying to land the biggest heaviest and most complicated rover we’ve ever built,” Mars 2020 entry, descent and landing lead Allen Chen said. During the descent, NASA teams will be in the dark, hence the scariest seven minutes of the mission. “We certainly don’t want to land on that,” Erisa Stilley, Perseverance entry, descent and landing engineer said when referring to the cliff.

This illustration provided by NASA depicts the Mars 2020 spacecraft carrying the Perseverance rover as it approaches Mars. Perseverance's $3 billion mission is the first leg in a U.S.-European effort to bring Mars samples to Earth in the next decade. Almost 50 years after the first casualty at Mars, NASA is attempting its hardest Martian touchdown yet. The rover named Perseverance is headed Thursday for a compact 5-mile-by-4-mile (8-kilometer-by-6.4-kilometer) patch on the edge of an ancient river delta. AdROUND-TRIP TICKETScientists have wanted to get hold of Mars rocks ever since NASA’s Mariners provided the first close pictures a half-century ago.

NASA will host its first-ever Spanish-language show for a planetary landing, marking another milestone for its Mars 2020 mission. ORLANDO, Fla. – There’s a lot of firsts when it comes to NASA’s Mars 2020 rover mission, including its first-ever Spanish-language show for a planetary landing. As NASA’s Perseverance rover prepares to attempt the riskiest part of its mission, landing on the red planet, NASA will host “Junto perseveramos,” together we persevere. The Spanish-language show will give viewers an overview of the Mars mission and introduce the role Hispanic NASA professionals have had in it. She will also offer live English-to-Spanish translation and commentary during the rover’s entry, descent and landing on Mars.

More than halfway to the red planet after launching from Florida in July NASA’s Mars rover Perseverance is coming in hot -- on the microphone. Perseverance, also known as Mars 2020, launched from Cape Canaveral on a ULA Altas V rocket this July. The robot may look like NASA’s well-known rover, Curiosity, currently roving around on Mars but this bot has a whole new suite of instruments, cameras and two microphones on board. One mic is designed to listen to the pew-pew sounds from the rover’s laser on the SuperCam instrument, another will listen to the Mars atmosphere entry, descent down to the surface and touchdown. It will be a surprise come landing day what the mic picks up because it wasn’t originally designed for space travel.

Ron DeSantis met with aerospace leaders in Merritt Island Thursday to sign a bill providing more incentives for space companies to come to Florida for the state’s spaceport authority. The Florida governor’s visit to the Space Coast comes about two hours after the successful launch of NASA’s next Mars rover, named Perseverance. The event was held Space Florida headquarters during which the governor signed House bill 717 that provides Space Florida more wiggle room to lure companies to the state. “The bill will provide Space Florida with additional flexibility to issue bonds and provide financing for commercial space and aerospace projects,” DeSantis said. Space Florida will be able to offer 30 year bonds instead of 40 year making them more attractive to investors, according to the governor.

A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket that will launch to Mars arrives at Space Launch Complex 41 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Tuesday, July 28, 2020, in Cape Canaveral, Fla. The rocket scheduled to launch on Thursday will land on Mars in February 2021 and the Mars 2020 rover, named Perseverance, will study Martian geology. (AP Photo/John Raoux)CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. The summers third and final mission to Mars featuring NASA's most elaborate life-hunting rover is on the verge of liftoff. The rover Perseverance will follow Chinas rover-orbiter combo and a United Arab Emirates orbiter, both launched last week. First things first, though: Good flying weather is forecast for United Launch Alliance's Atlas V rocket.

Mather, who is 13 years old and a seventh-grader at Lake Braddock Secondary School in Burke, Virginia, named the Mars Perseverance rover that will fly to space Thursday morning. [MORE SPACE: NASAs next Mars rover is brawniest and brainiest one yet | Space roundup: List of launches, landings and out-of-this world announcements]Weather is currently 80% "go" for the two-hour launch window. "This is an amazing place with amazing people doing amazing things and there's nowhere else I'd rather be." Mars missions do take a lot of perseverance," Mather said. If given the opportunity, Mather would love to go to space and to Mars, fulfilling a life-long dream of his.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – With eight successful Mars landings, NASA is upping the ante with its newest rover. The spacecraft Perseverance — set for liftoff this week — is NASA’s brawniest and brainiest Martian rover yet. It sports the latest landing tech, plus the most cameras and microphones ever assembled to capture the sights and sounds of Mars. CURIOSITY:The six-wheeled, car-sized Perseverance is a copycat of NASA’s Curiosity rover, prowling Mars since 2012, but with more upgrades and bulk. HUMAN BENEFITS:Besides the helicopter, Perseverance carries other experiments that could directly benefit astronauts at Mars.

This illustration made available by NASA depicts the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter on the red planet's surface near the Perseverance rover, left. NASA is upping the ante with its newest rover headed to Mars. Set to rocket away this week from Florida, Perseverance is NASA's brawniest and brainiest Martian rover yet. (NASA/JPL-Caltech via AP)

NASA has been working on the robotic mission for years, readying the new Mars rover nicknamed Perseverance for perhaps the most elaborate Martian mission yet. The space agency has partnered with the United Launch Alliance to launch Perseverance on top of an Atlas V rocket. The space chopper will test the first powered flight on Mars, another way how this Martian mission is boasting the best tech for space exploration. NASA explains it all in just one minute using an adorable trailer introducing you Perseverance and its big mission ahead. From lift-off to landing, see whats in store for the Mars 2020 rover before we say bon voyage in the video below.

To help you keep track of the exciting developments happening in spaceflight, below is a roundup of events, launches and landings any space enthusiast would be excited to follow. Heres when and how to watch all the latest space news this week:NASAs Mars rover launch eventsIn this May 20, 2020 photo made available by NASA/JPL-Caltech, engineers and technicians insert sample tubes into the belly of the Perseverance Mars rover at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA science leaders will discuss how the space agency plans to do this during a sample return briefing. The two astronauts will fly on a SpaceX test flight to the International Space Station. Sunday, Aug. 2Around 1 p.m. NASA and SpaceX will make the final call about Dragons deorbit from space.

China launched its most ambitious Mars mission yet on Thursday in a bold attempt to join the United States in successfully landing a spacecraft on the red planet. (Cai Yang/Xinhua via AP)BEIJING – China launched its most ambitious Mars mission yet on Thursday in a bold attempt to join the United States in successfully landing a spacecraft on the red planet. “The Mars rover has accurately entered the scheduled orbit," he said in brief remarks shown live on state broadcaster CCTV. And the U.S. is aiming to launch Perseverance, its most sophisticated Mars rover ever, from Cape Canaveral, Florida, next week. The UAE spacecraft Amal, or Hope, which will orbit Mars but not land, is the Arab world’s first interplanetary mission.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. NASA has delayed the launch of its newest Mars rover yet again to the end of July at the earliest this time for a rocket issue. Rocket maker United Launch Alliance needs extra time to deal with a liquid oxygen sensor line that showed questionable readings during a recent practice countdown, officials said Tuesday. The United Arab Emirates and China, meanwhile, still are pressing ahead with launches this month or next of Mars spacecraft. Russia and the European Space Agency had to bow out, delaying their Mars rover until 2022 because of delayed spacecraft testing and travel limitations due to the coronavirus pandemic. ___The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Department of Science Education.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. NASAs Mars rover Perseverance will have to wait another two days next month before it starts the months-long journey to the red planet. The rover is at NASAs Kennedy Space Center where its preparing to launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in July on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. The launch was scheduled for July 20 but NASA announced Wednesday it was pushed to July 22. The Mars launch window extends to August 11, meaning they have some time to get the robot off Earth. The new two-hour launch window opens at 9:35 a.m. on July 22.

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – Perseverance in the face of adversity is a tie that binds every successful athlete. This edition of Senior Salute goes out to Riley Winslow of the West Orange tennis team. Riley is tough on opponents and can be tough on herself. In May of 2018, Riley lost her mom to cancer. As she approaches graduation, Riley is looking ahead to what is next.