![NASA Astrobiology Logo](/static/assets/images/global/nasa-astro-logo@2x.47739212d6ef.png)
![NASA Astrobiology Mobile Logo](/static/assets/images/global/nasa-astro-logo-mobile@2x.c45d61a99d34.png)
![The image shows Earth at center on a blue-tinted starry background. A spectra in light blue resembling the readout of a heartbeat monitor runs along the bottom.](/uploads/filer_public_thumbnails/filer_public/7c/d5/7cd591b6-5121-4bfe-b28b-998ab0c47abd/banner-astrobio.jpg__310x218_q85_crop_subject_location-350%2C240_subsampling-2_upscale.jpg)
![Microscopy image showing three cells in focus. They are round in shape and filled with smaller vesicles. Two are large and red in color. The smaller cell in the middle is greenish with red tints throughout.](/uploads/filer_public_thumbnails/filer_public/2b/84/2b845113-f804-4e76-aff7-7225c3019a2a/picture_1_red_snow_algae.jpg__310x218_q85_crop_subject_location-561%2C545_subsampling-2_upscale.jpg)
![A very wide landscape image of Olympus Mons from orbit. The caldera of the volcano is in the center. The rest of the planet appears shrouded in thin cloud cover. A thin streak of colors from purple to green runs along the horizon as the atmosphere catches](/uploads/filer_public_thumbnails/filer_public/70/e9/70e9c031-f041-4f27-9260-fa5687bb8c3b/1-pia26305-odyssey-views-olympus-mons.png__310x218_q85_crop_subject_location-7076%2C809_subsampling-2_upscale.jpg)
![Image of Vest from the Dawn spacecraft.](/uploads/filer_public_thumbnails/filer_public/54/26/5426634c-e7c2-425f-800a-650ddeffabd3/vesta20150331.jpg__310x218_q85_crop_subject_location-600%2C337_subsampling-2_upscale.jpg)
![The image shows Earth at center on a blue-tinted starry background. A spectra in light blue resembling the readout of a heartbeat monitor runs along the bottom.](/uploads/filer_public_thumbnails/filer_public/7c/d5/7cd591b6-5121-4bfe-b28b-998ab0c47abd/banner-astrobio.jpg__310x218_q85_crop_subject_location-350%2C240_subsampling-2_upscale.jpg)
![The image is a close up looking straight through the inside of a sample tube housed in circular metal components of the rover with visible screws holding the instrument together. Light shines down inside the tube filled with a small circle of rock.](/uploads/filer_public_thumbnails/filer_public/65/38/6538f1a1-4457-40dd-9541-be534122be5b/e1a-headspace-above-berea-already-in-pj-pia25690.jpg__310x218_q85_crop_subject_location-824%2C600_subsampling-2_upscale.jpg)
![Illustration of the Perseverance rover arriving on Mars.](/uploads/filer_public_thumbnails/filer_public/48/6e/486efad5-ae26-4244-b351-1dfd3b36aabc/perseverancelanding.jpg__930x580_q85_crop_subject_location-465%2C290_subsampling-2.jpg)
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.