The sun sets in the center of the frame over the sea. A large research vessel is in the foreground to the right, almost in silhouette. Land can be seen on the distant horizon to the left.At the left of the image is a smear of color, starting with a bright white/yellow spot. The streak stretches to the middle of the image and transitions to a blue/purple color. To the right a 2nd smaller smear goes from yellow-orange-red and fades out.Perseverance is positioned to the right of the frame next to Cheyava Falls. The dusty, rocky, reddish surface of Mars fills the rest of the frame with hills in the background. There is a slight fish-eye bend around the edges of the frame.A closeup of a section of the cover image for Issue 9. This image is cropped to show a series of planets into the distance that represent disciplines of astrobiology (Geology, Oceanography, Microbiology, Chemistry, Biology and Atmospheric Science, etc.)
The Making of Our Alien EarthThe Undersea Volcanoes of Santorini, Greece01/04
RNA-Catalyzed EvolutionDemonstration of an RNA-based system02/04
"Leopard Spots" on MarsNASA’s Perseverance Rover Scientists Find Intriguing Mars Rock (NASA)03/04
Astrobiology, Issue #9: Becoming an AstrobiologistA new issue of the Astrobiology Graphic History is now available!04/04
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Illustration of the Perseverance rover arriving on Mars.
NASA MISSIONSMars 2020

NASA's Mars 2020 mission is the next step in NASA's long-term robotic exploration of Mars. The rover Perseverance will provide important data relevant to astrobiology research, along with a vast amount of geological information about the landing site and the planet at large that will help put the astrobiological data into context.

Perseverance will not be looking for organisms living on Mars today. However, the rover will collect data that could be used to identify biosignatures of ancient microbial life.

What really sets this mission apart is that Perseverance will be collecting a suite of samples to be returned to Earth via a Mars Sample Return mission. The opportunity to bring back samples from another planet will allow our researchers to interrogate them with all of the sophistication and thoroughness that Earth-based instrumentation provides.

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