Mars 2020: Perseverance Rover

NASA’s Mars Perseverance rover seeks signs of ancient life and collects samples of rock and regolith for possible Earth return.

active Mission
NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover took this selfie on July 23, 2024, the 1,218th Martian day, or sol, of the mission. To the left of the rover near the center of the image is the arrowhead-shaped rock nicknamed “Cheyava Falls,” which has features that may bear on the question of whether Mars was home to microscopic life in the distant past. The small dark hole in the rock is where Perseverance took a core sample, which is now in a sample tube stored in the rover’s belly. The white patch to the right of the hole is where the rover used an abrasion tool to clear away the top surface, allowing science instruments to study the rock’s composition.

The Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover searches for signs of ancient microbial life, to advance NASA's quest to explore the past habitability of Mars. The rover is collecting core samples of Martian rock and regolith (broken rock and soil), for potential pickup by a future mission that would bring them to Earth for detailed study.

Type

Rover

Launch / Landing

July 30, 2020 /
Feb. 18, 2021

Target

Jezero Crater, Mars

Objective

Seek signs of ancient life and collect samples of rock and regolith for possible Earth return.
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NASA/JPL-Caltech/VTAD

Landing Site: Jezero Crater

NASA chose Jezero Crater as the landing site for the Perseverance rover. Scientists believe the area was once flooded with water and was home to an ancient river delta. The process of landing site selection involved a combination of mission team members and scientists from around the world, who carefully examined more than 60 candidate locations on the Red Planet. After the exhaustive five-year study of potential sites, each with its own unique characteristics and appeal, Jezero rose to the top.

Jezero Crater tells a story of the on-again, off-again nature of the wet past of Mars. More than 3.5 billion years ago, river channels spilled over the crater wall and created a lake. Scientists see evidence that water carried clay minerals from the surrounding area into the crater lake. Conceivably, microbial life could have lived in Jezero during one or more of these wet times. If so, signs of their remains might be found in lakebed or shoreline sediments. Scientists will study how the region formed and evolved, seek signs of past life, and collect samples of Mars rock and soil that might preserve these signs.

Jezero Crater is 28 miles (45 kilometers) wide, and is located on the western edge of a flat plain called Isidis Planitia, which lies just north of the Martian equator. The landing site is about 2,300 miles (3,700 kilometers) from Curiosity's landing site in Gale Crater.

This image shows the remains of an ancient delta in Mars' Jezero Crater, which NASA's Perseverance Mars rover will explore for signs of fossilized microbial life.
This image shows the remains of an ancient delta in Mars' Jezero Crater, which NASA's Perseverance Mars rover will explore for signs of fossilized microbial life.
ESA/DLR/FU-Berlin

Mars Ingenuity Helicopter

Strapped to the rover's belly for the journey to Mars was a technology demonstration — the Mars Helicopter, Ingenuity, which completed 72 historic flights making it the first aircraft to achieve powered, controlled flight on another planet.

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This enhanced color image of NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter was taken by the Mastcam-Z instrument aboard Perseverance on April 16, 2023
This enhanced color image of NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter was taken by the Mastcam-Z instrument aboard Perseverance on April 16, 2023
NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS