[akiselev]

The problem isn't the camera, it's the uplink to Perseverance and all the other parts required for a usable camera. They're using Zigbee [1] to communicate with the Rover at 200 kbps and the solar panel recharging the batteries also have to power heaters to keep the electronics alive - there's no hardware connection between the two for data or power exchange AFAICT. The drone is already so heavy that it can only stay aloft for 90 seconds to a few minutes between charges so between the extra battery, lens, better antenna and RF module, etc. it'd require a redesign of the entire mission.

[1] https://rotorcraft.arc.nasa.gov/Publications/files/Balaram_A... - page 15

[_joel]

It's not that heavy, relatively speaking, it has to spin the rotors a lot faster to gain altitude in 1% atmosphere of Earth, hence the shorter flight time.