Nasa scientists in California are testing a concept Mars helicopter The small device would be launched to the red planet with another rover It would scout locations ahead for the rover to travel to and explore And it would be able to travel much greater distances than the rover Each day it could fly for up to three minutes and cover half a kilometre But it will have to contend with difficult conditions on the red planet Nasa has not revealed when the helicopter could go to Mars

By Jonathan O'Callaghan for MailOnline

Published: 13:35 EST, 26 January 2015 | Updated: 13:55 EST, 26 January 2015

Since July 2013, the Curiosity rover has travelled just over 23,300ft (7,100 metres) on the surface of Mars at an average of about 1,310ft (400 metres) per month.

But if a new Nasa project comes to fruition, future rovers could carry a small helicopter with them that could cover half a kilometre in just a single day.

The vehicle would perform daily flights to scout the surrounding area on Mars much faster than possible for ground based rovers.

Scroll down for video

Nasa scientists in California are testing a concept Mars helicopter (illustration shown). The small device would be launched to the red planet with another rover. It would scout locations ahead for the rover to travel to and explore. And it would be able to travel much greater distances than the rover

The concept is currently being tested by scientists at Nasas Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in California.

It is designed to provide an alternative to the slow, methodical progress required by rovers in order to avoid obstacles and plot a safe route across the red planet.

Continued here:

Nasa HELICOPTERS are headed to Mars