CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) The biggest, most sophisticated Mars rover ever built a car-size vehicle bristling with cameras, microphones, drills and lasers blasted off Thursday as part of an ambitious, long-range project to bring the first Martian rock samples back to Earth to be analyzed for evidence of ancient life.

NASAs Perseverance rode a mighty Atlas V rocket into the morning sky in the worlds third and final Mars launch of the summer. China and the United Arab Emirates got a head start last week, but all three missions should reach the red planet in February after a journey of seven months and 300 million miles (480 million kilometers).

The plutonium-powered, six-wheeled rover will drill down and collect tiny geological specimens that will be brought home in about 2031 in a sort of interplanetary relay race involving multiple spacecraft and countries. The overall cost: more than $8 billion.