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Mars 2020
This Mastcam-Z image shows a sample of Mars rock inside the sample tube on Sept. 1, 2021 (the 190th sol, or Martian day, of the mission), shortly after the coring operation.Science instruments onboard the Perseverance rover.Illustration of NASA's Perseverance rover on Mars.A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with NASA’s Mars 2020 Perseverance rover onboard launches from Space Launch Complex 41, Thursday, July 30, 2020, at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.Mission planners would potentially leverage aspects of the Curiosity rover design for a Mars mission designed to launch in 2020. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech A close-up view of an engineering model of SHERLOC (Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman & Luminescence for Organics & Chemicals), one the instruments aboard NASA's Perseverance Mars rover.In this illustration, NASA's Perseverance Mars rover uses the Planetary Instrument for X-ray Lithochemistry (PIXL).
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This Mastcam-Z image shows a sample of Mars rock inside the sample tube on Sept. 1, 2021 (the 190th sol, or Martian day, of the mission), shortly after the coring operation. The image was taken after coring concluded but prior to an operation that vibrates the drill bit and tube to clear the tube’s lip of any residual material.NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS
Science instruments onboard the Perseverance rover.NASA
Illustration of NASA's Perseverance rover on Mars.NASA
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with NASA’s Mars 2020 Perseverance rover onboard launches from Space Launch Complex 41, Thursday, July 30, 2020, at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The Perseverance rover is part of NASA’s Mars Exploration Program, a long-term effort of robotic exploration of the Red Planet.NASA/Joel Kowsky
Mission planners leveraged aspects of the Curiosity rover design for the Mars 2020 mission.NASA/JPL-Caltech
A close-up view of an engineering model of SHERLOC (Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman & Luminescence for Organics & Chemicals), one the instruments aboard NASA's Perseverance Mars rover. Located on the end of the rover's robotic arm, this instrument features an auto-focusing camera (pictured) that shoots black-and-white images used by SHERLOC's color camera, called WATSON (Wide Angle Topographic Sensor for Operations and eNgineering), to zero in on rock textures. SHERLOC also has a laser, which aims for the dead center of rock surfaces depicted in WATSON's images. The laser uses a technique called Raman spectroscopy to detect minerals in microscopic rock features; that data is then superimposed on WATSON's images. These mineral maps help scientists determine which rock samples Perseverance should drill so that they can be sealed in metal tubes and left on the Martian surface for a future mission to return to Earth.NASA/JPL-Caltech
In this illustration, NASA's Perseverance Mars rover uses the Planetary Instrument for X-ray Lithochemistry (PIXL). Located on the turret at the end of the rover's robotic arm, the X-ray spectrometer will help search for signs of ancient microbial life in rocks.NASA/JPL-Caltech
In this illustration, NASA's Perseverance Mars rover uses the Planetary Instrument for X-ray Lithochemistry (PIXL). The X-ray spectrometer will help search for signs of ancient microbial life in rocks.
Mission name: Mars 2020

Mars 2020 Mission

The Mars 2020 mission's Perseverance Rover will provide details about the potential for life on Mars, both past and present.

Mission details
  • Launch Date July 30, 2020
  • Arrival Date February 18, 2021
  • Mission TypeLander/Rover
  • TargetMars
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Follow the latest news from Perseverance and its sidekick Ingenuity at the official mission website: https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/

Mission Overview
NASA launched the robotic science rover, dubbed Perseverance, on July 30, 2020, from the Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Perseverance is based upon the Mars Science Laboratory heritage architecture, and as such is a step-wise improvement on tested technology. The instruments on Perseverance rover are similar to the Curiosity rover, some are more powerful upgrades of previous instruments and others have completely different, and new capabilities. Among these, at the end of the rover’s arm, is an instrument known as SHERLOC (Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman & Luminescence for Organics & Chemicals). SHERLOC will be used to study rock surfaces, and will work in tandem with a second instrument named WATSON (Wide Angle Topographic Sensor for Operations and eNgineering), a camera that can take close-up pictures of rock textures. Together the two instruments will be used to map the presence of certain minerals and organic molecules on the surfaces of rocks. Mineral maps can also be combined with data from additional instruments, including PIXL (Planetary Instrument for X-ray Lithochemistry).

Relevance to Astrobiology

NASA’s Mars 2020 mission is a step in NASA’s long-term robotic exploration of Mars. The rover Perseverance is providing 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.

One of the missions primary goal is to explore the geology of Jezero Crater in order to assess past habitability. Jezero Crater is a geologically rich terrain, with many features and minerals formed by water that may date back as far as 3.6 billion years ago. Studying the geology and mineralogy of this site will provide a window into the planet’s climate history, and allows astrobiologists to determine if sites like these were persistent habitable environments that could have supported life in the past.

Perseverance will not be looking for organisms living on Mars today. However, the rover is collecting data that could be used to identify biosignatures of ancient microbial life. Previous missions, from Pathfinder to Curiosity, have helped astrobiologists determine that habitable environments were present on Mars in the planet’s ancient past. However, while these environments may have been habitable, we do not know if they were inhabited (i.e. if life was ever present).

What really sets this mission apart is that Perseverance is collecting a suite of samples to be returned to Earth via a Mars Sample Return mission. The return samples from another planet will allow our researchers to interrogate them with all of the sophistication and thoroughness of Earth-based instrumentation, and will provide an immense opportunity to dramatically advance our scientific understanding of Mars.

Many of the goals for the Mars 2020 mission are directly relevant to Astrobiology. These include:

- Determine whether life ever arose on Mars

- Seeking signs of past life (biosignatures) in the geological record

- Characterize the climate of Mars

- Characterize the geology of Mars

NASA Astrobiology Involvement
Mars 2020 is a step in NASA’s robotic exploration of Mars, a primary target of astrobiology research in the Solar System, and will build on the accomplishments of the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL). Many researchers supported by elements of the Astrobiology Program are involved in the design and development of the Mars 2020 mission and its scientific goals.

The Astrobiology Program also funded the development of instruments included on the Mars 2020 mission.

The Astrobiologists
From the Virtual Planetary Laboratory Team (NExSS), Pamela Conrad is a co-Investigator for SHERLOC and MEDA instruments, and was a member of the landing site working group, and John Baross contributed to the Mars planetary protection reports.

Rohit Bhartia of the former NAI-USC Team is the Deputy PI for the SHERLOC instrument. William Abbey, Ken Nealson, Greg Wanger, and Bethany Ehlmann are Co-Investigators. Ehlmann is also a Co-Investigator for the MastCam-Z instrument and Abigail Allwood is the PI for the PIXL instrument on Mars 2020.

David Des Marais, PI of the former NAI-NASA Ames Team, served as part of the science definition team.



NASA’s Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover – Countdown to Mars (NASA YouTube)

Mission news and discoveries
In this illustration, NASA's Perseverance Mars rover uses the Planetary Instrument for X-ray Lithochemistry (PIXL). The X-ray spectrometer will help search for signs of ancient microbial life in rocks.
NASA’s Perseverance Rover Looks Back While Climbing Slippery Slope (NASA)October 29, 2024
In this illustration, NASA's Perseverance Mars rover uses the Planetary Instrument for X-ray Lithochemistry (PIXL). The X-ray spectrometer will help search for signs of ancient microbial life in rocks.
Just Keep Roving (NASA)October 17, 2024
In this illustration, NASA's Perseverance Mars rover uses the Planetary Instrument for X-ray Lithochemistry (PIXL). The X-ray spectrometer will help search for signs of ancient microbial life in rocks.
NASA: New Insights into How Mars Became Uninhabitable (NASA)October 08, 2024
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Mission Facts
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The first cored sample of Mars rock is visible (at center) inside a titanium sample collection tube in this image from the Sampling and Caching System Camera (known as CacheCam) of NASA’s Perseverance rover. The image was taken on Sept. 6, 2021.This image shows with a green dot where NASA’s Perseverance rover landed in Jezero Crater on Mars on Feb. 18, 2021. The base image was taken by the HiRISE camera aboard NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.Mars Oxygen ISRU Experiment Instrument for Mars 2020 Rover is MOXIE. Mars Oxygen ISRU Experiment (MOXIE) is an exploration technology investigation that will produce oxygen from Martian atmospheric carbon dioxide. Image Credit: NASA PIXL requires pictures of its rock targets to autonomously position itself. Light diodes encircle its opening and take pictures of rock targets when the instrument is working at night.
NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover used its dual-camera Mastcam-Z imager to capture this image of “Santa Cruz,” a hill within Jezero Crater, on April 29, 2021, the 68th Martian day, or sol, of the mission.This image shows with a green dot where NASA’s Perseverance rover landed in Jezero Crater on Mars on Feb. 18, 2021. The base image was taken by the HiRISE camera aboard NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.Mars Oxygen ISRU Experiment Instrument for Mars 2020 Rover is MOXIE. Mars Oxygen ISRU Experiment (MOXIE) is an exploration technology investigation that will produce oxygen from Martian atmospheric carbon dioxide. Image Credit: NASA This diagram depicts the sensor head of the Planetary Instrument for X-RAY Lithochemistry, or PIXL, which has been selected as one of seven investigations for the payload of NASA's Mars 2020 rover mission. PIXL is an X-ray fluorescence spectrometer that w
Samples PackedPerseverance Initiates Sample Return Mission

On Sept. 1, 2021, NASA’s Perseverance rover drilled extract a rock core from Mars. The core was sealed in its tube, marking the first time a spacecraft packed up a rock sample from another planet that could be returned to Earth.

Touchdown in Jezero CraterPerseverance Landed Feb. 18, 2021

This image shows with a green dot where NASA’s Perseverance rover landed in Jezero Crater on Mars on Feb. 18, 2021. The base image was taken by the HiRISE camera aboard NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

Mars Oxygen ISRU Experiment Instrument (MOXIE)MOXIE

Mars Oxygen ISRU Experiment (MOXIE) is an exploration technology investigation that will produce oxygen from Martian atmospheric carbon dioxide. Image Credit: NASA

Planetary Instrument for X-RAY Lithochemistry (PIXL)PIXL

PIXL is an X-ray fluorescence spectrometer that will also contain an imager with high resolution to determine the fine-scale elemental composition of Martian surface materials. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

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