Perseverance has achieved its goal of retrieving a Mars rock sample, just over a year since it touched down. In this episode of the Space Connect Podcast, Adam, Hannah and Liam discuss the rover's relationship with its helicopter wingman Ingenuity, and the success of the mission so far. Plus, the trio chat NASA's flying taxis, trouble for Virgin Galactic and a big day out for Australia's space industry, with the launch of CUAVA-1 and Binar-1. Does the duel launch signal a new battle between states for supremacy of our growing space sector?