NASA is planning for the first time to use a small helicopter to survey Mars as part of the agency's 2020 mission to put a new rover on the red planet's surface.

The space agency announced Friday that the solar-powered helicopter, which weighs about four pounds, would deploy from a car-sized rover to fly through the thin Martian atmosphere, according to Reuters.

Pilots on Earth will control the next-generation aircraft for small test flights at first, and then gradually expand the range and duration as they determine its potential to scout and study previously inaccessible locations.

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“The idea of a helicopter flying the skies of another planet is thrilling,” NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine James (Jim) Frederick BridenstineNASA publishes Artemis plan to land first woman, next man on moon NASA is in the market for moon rocks Overnight Defense: Trump hosts Israel, UAE, Bahrain for historic signing l Air Force reveals it secretly built and flew new fighter jet l Coronavirus creates delay in Pentagon research for alternative to 'forever chemicals' MORE said in a statement.

NASA said the blades of the small helicopter, which has a softball-sized fuselage, would maintain an RPM of nearly 3,000, about 10 times that of helicopters on Earth.

The mission is planned for a launch in July 2020 and is scheduled to arrive on the planet in February 2021 to study the potential for Mars to be inhabited.