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When it comes to exploring other planets, we have barely even begun. Sure, we have sent many rovers to Mars and have come to know a lot about it, but even then we have just barely scratched the surface.

When it comes to more distant planets like Neptune and Uranus, the amount of information we have is limited at best. We have had to rely on satellites passing by these planets to get pictures and other information regarding their atmosphere and such.

As we look to expand our presence in the coming decades and settle permanent colonies on the Moon, Mars, and possibly even further in the coming centuries, it will be vital to know beforehand what we will be stepping into (literally).

Rovers have been great until now but we need something more. We need something that can scan the planet much faster than ever before. And the solution might have been here all along.

# Drones - New Age of Exploration
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Drones have been in use for many years now. They have already revolutionized how things are done in many industries. Now, it's time to use them to explore other planets. NASA is already going to do this when the newly launched rover arrives there in a few months.

NASA plans to use a four-pound helicopter called Ingenuity to scan the surface of Mars. It will become the first aircraft to be flown in an alien world. And frankly, it only makes sense.

Rovers crawl on the surface and they are really slow. Imagine trying to explore anything meaningful with them. Drones or copters on the other hand can cover a huge distance in a very short period of time. If you can send a swarm of these, they could potentially scan the entire planet in no time!

Also, drones can reach anywhere if they are small enough, no matter the difficulty of the terrain. Rovers have a lot of geographic limitations as to where they can go.

If the Mars drone becomes successful, we could see many more missions like this to the red planet and elsewhere.
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_Image Credits: NASA/JPL - Caltech_