World News for Students of English

06-04-2021 07:00

NASA’s Perseverance rover landed on Mars on February 18, 2021. It carried a helicopter that was at the bottom of the rover. A special metal cover kept the helicopter safe during the landing.

Currently, the rover is on its way to a place where the helicopter will try to fly for the first time. Nothing that people ever made has flown on another planet before.

It was not easy to make an aircraft that could fly on Mars. Mars has different gravity and atmosphere, too. It means that the helicopter must be very small and light. Also, it gets very cold on Mars at night, and both the rover and the helicopter must have special heating. It protects electrical parts from freezing and breaking.

On April 8, the helicopter will make the first attempt to fly. If it is successful, it can change the way that people explore Mars.

Difficult words: rover (a special car that travels on the moon or Mars), attempt (when somebody tries to do something), explore (to travel around a place and learn about it).

You can watch the original video in the Level 3 section.