NASA ups the ante with fresh 'brawniest and brainiest' Mars rover

With eight successful Mars landings, NASA is upping the ante with its newest rover.

The spacecraft Perseverance set for liftoff this week is NASA's biggest and brainiest Martian rover yet.

It sports the latest landing tech, plus the most cameras and microphones ever assembled to capture the sights and sounds of Mars.

Its super-sanitized sample return tubes for rocks that could hold evidence of past Martian life are the cleanest items ever bound for space. A helicopter is even tagging along for an otherworldly test flight.

This summer's third and final mission to Mars after the United Arab Emirates' Hope orbiter and China's Quest