Launch set for NASA's next-generation Mars rover Perseverance

By Joey Roulette (Reuters) - NASA's next-generation Mars rover Perseverance is set for liftoff from Florida's Cape Canaveral on Thursday on a mission to search for traces of potential past life on Earth's planetary neighbor. The U.S. space agency's $2.4 billion mission is scheduled for launch at 7:50 a.m. ET (1150 GMT) and is expected to reach Mars next February. The car-sized six-wheeled robotic rover, which will launch atop an Atlas 5 rocket from the...