![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)
![Two streaks of grey/green rock run diagonally through the frame from top right to bottom left. One dark piece in toward the top right is labeled Olivine. In the reddish regolith between the two streaks, a seconds spot is labeled Leopard Spot.](/uploads/filer_public_thumbnails/filer_public/57/3d/573dcd00-bdec-4629-afa3-f2bfabfe9159/2-pia26368-perseverance-16x9b_1.jpg__310x218_q85_crop_subject_location-768%2C432_subsampling-2_upscale.jpg)
![Images taken by Huygens were used to create this view, which shows the probe's perspective from an altitude of about 6 miles (10 kilometers).](/uploads/filer_public_thumbnails/filer_public/cf/87/cf87cb6c-1732-4f2d-97b0-710d13a78ba0/pia08113b-16.jpg__310x218_q85_crop_subject_location-800%2C450_subsampling-2_upscale.jpg)
![Artist impression of NASA's Cassini spacecraft dives through the plume of Saturn's moon Enceladus in 2015.](/uploads/filer_public_thumbnails/filer_public/c3/2b/c32b3df2-1796-4348-addd-530c2201d6d3/17-042_main_image.jpg__310x218_q85_crop_subject_location-533%2C226_subsampling-2_upscale.jpg)
![When haze built up in the atmosphere of Archean Earth, the young planet might have looked like this artist’s interpretation — a pale orange dot.](/uploads/filer_public_thumbnails/filer_public/a4/ba/a4baeefd-bce6-4667-b91b-7260a4e1bb04/image3.jpg__310x218_q85_crop_subject_location-720%2C405_subsampling-2_upscale.jpg)
![Two holes are visible in the rock, nicknamed “Rochette,” from which NASA’s Perseverance rover obtained its first core samples. The rover drilled the hole on the left, called “Montagnac,” Sept. 7, and the hole on the right, known as “Montdenier,” Sept. 1.](/uploads/filer_public_thumbnails/filer_public/35/c0/35c0a7bd-3ec3-419b-9c9f-4847c1b38bab/1-pia24840_main_samuels_5_hazcam_flf_0196_0684353735_668cws_n0070000fhaz02008_0a00llj01-stretched.png__310x218_q85_crop_subject_location-620%2C254_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)
![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.