NASA has received funding to develop a giant plane that will look for signs of water on Mars.
It will be solar-powered and called Mars Aerial and Ground Intelligence Explorer, or Maggie for short.
According to the Irish Independent, Maggie could fly at an altitude of 1,000km for 180km with fully charged batteries.
It's expected to fly over 16,000km over the space of a year on Mars.
While on the Red Planet, NASA hopes to conduct three studies on its atmosphere and geographical features.
A hunt for water will get underway as well as research into the origin of methane signals and the weak magnetic field that's present.
"Maggie would be able to perform the first global-scale atmospheric mission at Mars and revolutionise our capability of exploring almost the entirety of the Martian surface," a NASA blog post says.
It's not yet been revealed when the plane could take its first flight and it won't be without its challenges.
The atmosphere around Mars is very thin and has a very low air pressure, making it difficult to develop planes that can stay flying in it.
Until now, any vehicles sent to the Red Planet have remained on the ground.
Other NASA projects
Other NASA projects include one that will allow your name to be sent to the moon!
The VIPER will take off later this year and if you get your name in in time, it could be sent exploring.
A boarding pass will be issued to those who have submitted their names to NASA.
Names must be sent in by March 15th, 2024.
Send your name to the Moon!
Our VIPER rover will explore the lunar South Pole, studying shadowy craters and searching for frozen water—and you can sign up to add your name before it lifts off: https://t.co/GfOdQdhypW pic.twitter.com/Af9Qsxz5Tl
— NASA (@NASA) January 4, 2024
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