NASA is about to land a helicopter on Mars that might glow in the dark

By Jonathan O’Callaghan

NASA is about to fly the first helicopter on Mars, and it turns out that its rotors could glow in the dark as they react with Martian dust.

NASA’s Perseverance rover is set to touch down in Jezero Crater on Mars on 18 February 2021 to search for past life on Mars, but it will also deploy a 0.5-metre-high drone called Ingenuity. Starting in March, it will conduct the first of up to five flights in a 30-day window. Each will increase in duration, up to a maximum of …