Bugs on Mars

Unearthly aircraft may explore the Red Planet–and beyond

Anthony Colozza hopes to unleash flying robots on Mars. That may sound like the brainchild of a crazed, sci-fi film director, but the proposed bird-size robots are actually a technology designed for serving planetary science. Aerospace engineer Colozza and his colleagues are convinced that the machines, which will fly as insects do, may be the perfect explorers for the Red Planet.