Mission Timeline

These annotated images show two views of the “Séítah” geologic unit of Mars’ Jezero Crater. 

These two images illustrate the value of being able to identify different compositions at very small scales.

Illustrated here, the aluminum wheels of NASA's Curiosity (left) and Perseverance rovers. Slightly larger in diameter and narrower, 20.7 inches (52.6 centimeters) versus 20 inches (50.8 centimeters...

This is the first high-resolution, color image to be sent back by the Hazard Cameras (Hazcams) on the underside NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover after its landing on Feb. 18, 2021. 

This artist's concept depicts NASA's Mars 2020 rover exploring Mars. 

This image shows part of the “Cratered Floor Fractured Rough” geologic unit where Perseverance rover will hunt for a suitable first sample target.

Combining two images, this mosaic shows a close-up view of the rock target named “Yeehgo” from the SuperCam instrument on NASA’s Perseverance rover on Mars. The component images were taken by Super...

NASA’s Perseverance took a selfie looking down at one of 10 tubes the rover deposited at the sample depot it created in an area within Jezero Crater nicknamed “Three Forks.” This image was taken by...

One of two wind sensors springs out of the mast on NASA's Perseverance Mars rover. These sensors are part of Perseverance's weather instrumentation, called MEDA.

NASA's Mars 2020 Perseverance rover reached its halfway point – 146.3 million miles (235.4 million kilometers) – on its journey to Jezero Crater on Oct. 27, 2020, at 1:40 p.m. PDT (4:40 EDT). 

In just a couple of years, NASA’s newest rover will be flying to Mars. The Mars 2020 mission will use the next generation of science and landing technology to collect rock samples for possible retu...

This image of the "South Séítah" region of Jezero Crater was taken by NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter during its 11th flight on Aug. 4.

The helicopter was tested on a stand while the cruise stage was tested on the rotation fixture.

NASA's Mars 2020 spacecraft undergoes examination prior to an acoustic test in the Environmental Test Facility at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

The Ingenuity Mars Helicopter took this image with its color camera from beneath the Perseverance rover after the rover had deployed the rotorcraft to the surface of Mars. Image was taken on April ...

Buckle up for a Mars tour with rover driver Vandi Verma, and learn how NASA’s rovers have evolved to better explore this alien world.

NASA Mars Helicopter team members work the flight model (the vehicle going to Mars) in the Space Simulator.

MOXIE engineer Asad Aboobaker of JPL explains how the instrument works in this video interview.

Members of NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter team in the Space Flight Operations Facility at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory react to data showing that the helicopter completed its first flight on April...

Perseverance’s first cored-rock sample is visible inside this titanium sample collection tube in this image taken on Sept. 6, 2021.

The Mars 2020 spacecraft’s heat shield falls away as the aeroshell descends to Mars on Feb. 18, 2021.

This image from one of the rear Hazard Cameras, or Hazcams, aboard NASA's Perseverance Mars rover, shows a smoke plume from the crashed descent stage that lowered the rover to the Martian surface. 

What secrets could we unravel by studying Mars samples in state-of-the-art labs on Earth? Scientists around the globe are eager to find out.

A 3-D printed model of Mastcam-Z, one of the science cameras on the Mars 2020 rover. Mastcam-Z will include a 3:1 zoom lens.

The Mars 2020 rover undergoes an "eye" exam after several cameras were installed. The rover carries everything from wide-angle landscape cameras to narrow-angle high-resolution zoom lens cameras. T...