Misplaced Pages

Perseverance
Part of Mars 2020
Self-portrait by Perseverance in September 2021 at Rochette, a rock and the site of the first core samples of the Mars 2020 mission.
Type	Mars rover
Owner	NASA
Manufacturer	Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Specifications
Dimensions	2.9 m × 2.7 m × 2.2 m (9 ft 6 in × 8 ft 10 in × 7 ft 3 in)
Dry mass	1,025 kilograms (2,260 lb)
Communication	UHF: ~400 MHz, 2 Mbit/s X band: 7–8 GHz, 800-bit/s
Power	MMRTG; 110 watt
Rocket	Atlas V 541
Instruments
Cachecam EDLC × 2 Hazcam × 8 Mastcam-Z MEDA Microphones MOXIE Navcam × 2 PIXL RIMFAX SHERLOC SuperCam
History
Launched	July 30, 2020, 11:50 UTC (2020-07-30UTC11:50) from Cape Canaveral SLC-41
Deployed	February 18, 2021, 20:55 UTC; 3 years ago (February 18, 2021, 20:55 UTC) from the Mars 2020 EDLS
Location	18°26′49″N 77°24′07″E / 18.447°N 77.402°E / 18.447; 77.402 (Perseverance rover) Jezero crater, Mars
Travelled	28.91 km (17.96 mi) as of 19 September 2024
NASA Mars rovers
← Curiosity

Perseverance, is a car-sized Mars rover designed to explore the Jezero crater on Mars as part of NASA's Mars 2020 mission. It was manufactured by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and launched on July 30, 2020, at 11:50 UTC. Confirmation that the rover successfully landed on Mars was received on February 18, 2021, at 20:55 UTC. As of 20 December 2024, Perseverance has been active on Mars for 1363 sols (1,401 Earth days, or 3 years, 10 months and 2 days) since its landing. Following the rover's arrival, NASA named the landing site Octavia E. Butler Landing.

Perseverance has a similar design to its predecessor rover, Curiosity, although it was moderately upgraded. It carries seven primary payload instruments, nineteen cameras, and two microphones.

The rover also carried the mini-helicopter Ingenuity to Mars, an experimental technology testbed that made the first powered aircraft flight on another planet on April 19, 2021. On January 18, 2024 (UTC), it made its 72nd and final flight, suffering damage on landing to its rotor blades, possibly all four, causing NASA to retire it.

The rover's goals include identifying ancient Martian environments capable of supporting life, seeking out evidence of former microbial life existing in those environments, collecting rock and soil samples to store on the Martian surface, and testing oxygen production from the Martian atmosphere to prepare for future crewed missions.

Mission

Despite the high-profile success of the Curiosity rover landing in August 2012, NASA's Mars Exploration Program was in a state of uncertainty in the early 2010s. Budget cuts forced NASA to pull out of a planned collaboration with the European Space Agency which included a rover mission. By the summer of 2012, a program that had been launching a mission to Mars every two years suddenly found itself with no missions approved after 2013.

In 2011, the Planetary Science Decadal Survey, a report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine containing an influential set of recommendations made by the planetary science community, stated that the top priority of NASA's planetary exploration program in the decade between 2013 and 2022 should be to begin a NASA-ESA Mars Sample Return campaign, a four-mission project to cache, retrieve, launch, and safely return samples of the Martian surface to Earth. The report stated that NASA should invest in a sample-caching rover as the first step in this effort, with the goal of keeping costs under US$2.5 billion.

After the success of the Curiosity rover and in response to the recommendations of the decadal survey, NASA announced its intent to launch a new Mars rover mission by 2020 at the American Geophysical Union conference in December 2012.

Though initially hesitant to commit to an ambitious sample-caching capability (and subsequent follow-on missions), a NASA-convened science definition team for the Mars 2020 project released a report in July 2013 that the mission should "select and store a compelling suite of samples in a returnable cache."

Science objectives

The Perseverance rover has four main science objectives that support the Mars Exploration Program's science goals:

• Looking for habitability: identify past environments that were capable of supporting microbial life.
• Seeking biosignatures: seek signs of possible past microbial life in those habitable environments, particularly in specific rock types known to preserve signs over time.
• Caching samples: collect core rock and regolith (unconsolidated and loose "soil") samples and store them within the rover and on the Martian surface (as a backup) for delivery to a future sample return rocket.
• Preparing for humans: test oxygen production from the Martian atmosphere.

In the first science campaign Perseverance performs an arching drive southward from its landing site to the Séítah unit to perform a "toe dip" into the unit to collect remote-sensing measurements of geologic targets. After that it will return to the Crater Floor Fractured Rough to collect the first core sample there. Passing by the Octavia E. Butler landing site concludes the first science campaign.

The second campaign will include several months of travel towards the "Three Forks" where Perseverance can access geologic locations at the base of the ancient delta of Neretva river, as well as ascend the delta by driving up a valley wall to the northwest.

Design

The Perseverance design evolved from its predecessor, the Curiosity rover. The two rovers share a similar body plan, landing system, cruise stage, and power system, but the design was improved in several ways for Perseverance. Engineers designed the rover wheels to be more robust than Curiosity's wheels, which had sustained some damage. Perseverance has thicker, more durable aluminum wheels, with reduced width and a greater diameter, 52.5 cm (20.7 in), than Curiosity's 50 cm (20 in) wheels. The aluminum wheels are covered with cleats for traction and curved titanium spokes for springy support. The heat shield for the rover was made out of phenolic-impregnated carbon ablator (PICA), to allow it to withstand up to 2,400 °F (1,320 °C) of heat. Like Curiosity, the rover includes a robotic arm, although Perseverance's arm is longer and stronger, measuring 2.1 m (6 ft 11 in). The arm hosts an elaborate rock-coring and sampling mechanism to store geologic samples from the Martian surface in sterile caching tubes. There is also a secondary arm hidden below the rover that helps store the chalk-sized samples. This arm is known as the Sample Handling Assembly (SHA), and is responsible for moving the soil samples to various stations within the Adaptive Caching Assembly (ACA) on the underside of the rover. These stations include volume assessment (measuring the length of sample), imaging, seal dispensing, and hermetic seal station, among others. Owing to the small space in which the SHA must operate, as well as load requirements during sealing activities, the Sample Caching System "is the most complicated, most sophisticated mechanism that we have ever built, tested and readied for spaceflight."

The combination of larger instruments, new sampling and caching system, and modified wheels makes Perseverance heavier, weighing 1,025 kg (2,260 lb) compared to Curiosity at 899 kg (1,982 lb)—a 14% increase.

The rover's multi-mission radioisotope thermoelectric generator (MMRTG) has a mass of 45 kg (99 lb) and uses 4.8 kg (11 lb) of plutonium-238 oxide as its power source. The radioactive decay of plutonium-238, which has a half-life of 87.7 years, gives off heat which is converted to electricity—approximately 110 watts at launch. This will decrease over time as its power source decays. The MMRTG charges two lithium-ion rechargeable batteries which power the rover's activities, and must be recharged periodically. Unlike solar panels, the MMRTG provides engineers with significant flexibility in operating the rover's instruments even at night, during dust storms, and through winter.

The rover's computer uses the BAE Systems RAD750 radiation-hardened single board computer based on a ruggedized PowerPC G3 microprocessor (PowerPC 750). The computer contains 128 megabytes of volatile DRAM, and runs at 133 MHz. The flight software runs on the VxWorks operating system, is written in C and is able to access 4 gigabytes of NAND non-volatile memory on a separate card. Perseverance relies on three antennas for telemetry, all of which are relayed through craft currently in orbit around Mars. The primary UHF antenna can send data from the rover at a maximum rate of two megabits per second. Two slower X-band antennas provide communications redundancy.

Instruments

NASA considered nearly 60 proposals for rover instrumentation. On July 31, 2014, NASA announced the seven instruments that would make up the payload for the rover:

• Mars Oxygen ISRU Experiment (MOXIE), an exploration technology investigation to produce a small amount of oxygen (O₂) from Martian atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂). On April 20, 2021, 5.37 grams of oxygen were produced in an hour, with nine more extractions planned over the course of two Earth years to further investigate the instrument. This technology could be scaled up in the future for human life support or to make the rocket fuel for return missions.
• Planetary Instrument for X-Ray Lithochemistry (PIXL), an X-ray fluorescence spectrometer to determine the fine scale elemental composition of Martian surface materials.
• Radar Imager for Mars' subsurface experiment (RIMFAX), a ground-penetrating radar to image different ground densities, structural layers, buried rocks, meteorites, and detect underground water ice and salty brine at 10 m (33 ft) depth. The RIMFAX is being provided by the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment (FFI).
• Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer (MEDA), a set of sensors that measure temperature, wind speed and direction, pressure, relative humidity, radiation, and dust particle size and shape. It is provided by Spain's Centro de Astrobiología.
• SuperCam, an instrument suite that can provide imaging, chemical composition analysis, and mineralogy in rocks and regolith from a distance. It is an upgraded version of the ChemCam on the Curiosity rover but with two lasers and four spectrometers that will allow it to remotely identify biosignatures and assess the past habitability. SuperCam is used in conjunction with the AEGIS targeting system. Los Alamos National Laboratory, the Research Institute in Astrophysics and Planetology (IRAP) in France, the French Space Agency (CNES), the University of Hawaii, and the University of Valladolid in Spain cooperated in the SuperCam's development and manufacture.
• Mastcam-Z, a stereoscopic imaging system with the ability to zoom. Many photos were included in the published NASA photogallery. (Including Raw)
• Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman and Luminescence for Organics and Chemicals (SHERLOC), an ultraviolet Raman spectrometer that uses fine-scale imaging and an ultraviolet (UV) laser to determine fine-scale mineralogy and detect organic compounds.

There are additional cameras and two audio microphones (the first working microphones on Mars), that will be used for engineering support during landing, driving, and collecting samples. For a full look at Perseverance's components see Learn About the Rover.

Mars Ingenuity helicopter experiment

The Ingenuity helicopter, powered by solar-charged batteries, was sent to Mars in the same bundle with Perseverance. With a mass of 1.8 kg (4.0 lb), the helicopter demonstrated the reality of flight in the rarefied Martian atmosphere and the potential usefulness of aerial scouting for rover missions. It carried two cameras but no scientific instruments and communicated with Earth via a base station onboard Perseverance. Its pre-launch experimental test plan was three flights in 45 days, but it far exceeded expectations and made 72 flights in nearly three years. After its first few flights, it made incrementally more ambitious ones, several of which were recorded by Perseverance's cameras. The first flight was April 19, 2021, at 07:15 UTC, with confirmation from data reception at 10:15 UTC. It was the first powered flight by any aircraft on another planet. On January 18, 2024 (UTC), it made its 72nd and final flight, suffering the loss of a rotor blade (imaged, by Perseverance, lying on the sand roughly 15 m (49 ft) distant from the upright body of Ingenuity), causing NASA to retire it.

Name

Associate Administrator of NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Thomas Zurbuchen selected the name Perseverance following a nationwide K-12 student "name the rover" contest that attracted more than 28,000 proposals. A seventh-grade student, Alexander Mather from Lake Braddock Secondary School in Burke, Virginia, submitted the winning entry at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. In addition to the honor of naming the rover, Mather and his family were invited to NASA's Kennedy Space Center to watch the rover's July 2020 launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) in Florida.

Mather wrote in his winning essay:

Curiosity. InSight. Spirit. Opportunity. If you think about it, all of these names of past Mars rovers are qualities we possess as humans. We are always curious, and seek opportunity. We have the spirit and insight to explore the Moon, Mars, and beyond. But, if rovers are to be the qualities of us as a race, we missed the most important thing. Perseverance. We as humans evolved as creatures who could learn to adapt to any situation, no matter how harsh. We are a species of explorers, and we will meet many setbacks on the way to Mars. However, we can persevere. We, not as a nation but as humans, will not give up. The human race will always persevere into the future.

Twin rover

JPL built a copy of the Perseverance; a twin rover used for testing and problem solving, OPTIMISM (Operational Perseverance Twin for Integration of Mechanisms and Instruments Sent to Mars), a vehicle system test bed (VSTB). It is housed at the JPL Mars Yard and is used to test operational procedures and to aid in problem solving should any issues arise with Perseverance.

Operational history

Mars transit

The Perseverance rover lifted off successfully on July 30, 2020, at 11:50:00 UTC aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V launch vehicle from Space Launch Complex 41, at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) in Florida.

The rover took 29 weeks to travel to Mars and made its landing in Jezero Crater on February 18, 2021, to begin its science phase.

After May 17, 2022, the rover will move uphill and examine rocks on the surface for evidence of past life on Mars. On its return downhill, it will collect sample rocks to be retrieved and examined by future expeditions.

Landing

The successful landing of Perseverance in Jezero Crater was announced at 20:55 UTC on February 18, 2021, the signal from Mars taking 11 minutes to arrive at Earth. The rover touched down at 18°26′41″N 77°27′03″E / 18.4446°N 77.4509°E / 18.4446; 77.4509, roughly 1 km (0.62 mi) southeast of the center of its 7.7 km × 6.6 km (4.8 mi × 4.1 mi) wide landing ellipse. It came down pointed almost directly to the southeast, with the RTG on the back of the vehicle pointing northwest. The descent stage ("sky crane"), parachute and heat shield all came to rest within 1.5 km of the rover (see satellite image). Having come within sixteen feet (~5 meters) of its target, the landing was more accurate than any previous Mars landing; a feat enabled by the experience gained from Curiosity's landing and the use of new steering technology.

One such new technology is Terrain Relative Navigation (TRN), a technique in which the rover compares images of the surface taken during its descent with reference maps, allowing it to make last minute adjustments to its course. The rover also uses the images to select a safe landing site at the last minute, allowing it to land in relatively unhazardous terrain. This enables it to land much closer to its science objectives than previous missions, which all had to use a landing ellipse devoid of hazards.

The landing occurred in the late afternoon, with the first images taken at 15:53:58 on the mission clock (local mean solar time). The landing took place shortly after Mars passed through its northern vernal equinox (Ls = 5.2°), at the start of the astronomical spring, the equivalent of the end of March on Earth.

The parachute descent of the Perseverance rover was photographed by the HiRISE high-resolution camera on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO).

Jezero Crater is a paleolake basin. It was selected as the landing site for this mission in part because paleolake basins tend to contain perchlorates. Astrobiologist Dr. Kennda Lynch's work in analog environments on Earth suggests that the composition of the crater, including the bottomset deposits accumulated from three different sources in the area, is a likely place to discover evidence of perchlorate-reducing microbes, if such bacteria are living or were formerly living on Mars.

• Video of Perseverance's parachute deployment and powered landing sequence
• Perseverance parachute descent over the Jezero crater photographed by Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO)
• An illustration of Perseverance tethered to the sky crane.
• The rover photographed from the sky crane during descent

A few days after landing, Perseverance released the first audio recorded on the surface of Mars, capturing the sound of Martian wind.

During its travels on Mars, NASA scientists had observed around Sol 341 (February 4, 2022) that a small rock had dropped into one of its wheels while the rover was studying the Máaz rock formation. The rock was visible from one of the hazard avoidance cameras, and was determined not to be harmful to the rover's mission. The rock has since stayed on Perseverance's wheel for around 427 sols (439 days) as the rover traveled over 6 miles (9.7 km) on the martian surface. NASA deemed that Perseverance had adopted a pet rock for its journey. Later, by May 2024, the rover picked up another pet rock named "Dwayne".

Traverse

It is planned for Perseverance to visit the bottom and upper parts of the 3.4 to 3.8 billion-year-old Neretva Vallis delta, the smooth and etched parts of the Jezero Crater floor deposits interpreted as volcanic ash or aeolian airfall deposits, emplaced before the formation of the delta; the ancient shoreline covered with Transverse Aeolian Ridges (dunes) and mass wasting deposits, and finally, it is planned to climb onto the Jezero Crater rim.

In its progressive commissioning and tests, Perseverance made its first test drive on Mars on March 4, 2021. NASA released photographs of the rover's first wheel tracks on the Martian soil.

Samples cached for the Mars sample-return mission

In support of the NASA-ESA Mars Sample Return, rock, regolith (Martian soil), and atmosphere samples are being cached by Perseverance. As of October 2023, 27 out of 43 sample tubes have been filled, including 8 igneous rock samples, 12 sedimentary rock sample tubes, a Silica-cemented carbonate rock sample tube, two regolith sample tubes, an atmosphere sample tube, and three witness tubes. Before launch, 5 of the 43 tubes were designated "witness tubes" and filled with materials that would capture particulates in the ambient environment of Mars. Out of 43 tubes, 3 witness sample tubes will not be returned to Earth and will remain on rover as the sample canister will only have 30 tube slots. Further, 10 of the 43 tubes are left as backups at the Three Forks Sample Depot.

Discoveries

In July 2024, NASA’s Perseverance rover discovered “leopard spots” on a reddish rock nicknamed "Cheyava Falls" in Mars’ Jezero Crater, that has some indications it may have hosted microbial life billions of years ago, but further research is needed.

Cost

NASA plans to invest roughly US$2.75 billion in the project over 11 years, including US$2.2 billion for the development and building of the hardware, US$243 million for launch services, and US$291 million for 2.5 years of mission operations.

Adjusted for inflation, Perseverance is NASA's sixth-most expensive robotic planetary mission, though it is cheaper than its predecessor, Curiosity. Perseverance benefited from spare hardware and "build-to print" designs from the Curiosity mission, which helped reduce development costs and saved "probably tens of millions, if not 100 million dollars" according to Mars 2020 Deputy Chief Engineer Keith Comeaux.

Commemorative artifacts

"Send Your Name to Mars"

NASA's "Send Your Name to Mars" campaign invited people from around the world to submit their names to travel aboard the agency's next rover to Mars. 10,932,295 names were submitted. The names were etched by an electron beam onto three fingernail-sized silicon chips, along with the essays of the 155 finalists in NASA's "Name the Rover" contest. The three chips share space on an anodized plate with a laser engraved graphic representing Earth, Mars, and the Sun. The rays emanating from the Sun contain the phrase "Explore As One" written in Morse code. The plate was then mounted on the rover on March 26, 2020.

Geocaching in Space Trackable

Part of Perseverance's cargo is a geocaching trackable item viewable with the SHERLOC's WATSON camera.

In 2016, NASA SHERLOC co-investigator Dr. Marc Fries — with help from his son Wyatt — was inspired by Geocaching's 2008 placement of a cache on the International Space Station to set out and try something similar with the rover mission. After floating the idea around mission management, it eventually reached NASA scientist Francis McCubbin, who would join the SHERLOC instrument team as a collaborator to move the project forward. The Geocaching inclusion was scaled-down to a trackable item that players could search for from NASA camera views and then log on to the site. In a manner similar to the "Send Your Name to Mars" campaign, the geocaching trackable code was carefully printed on a one-inch, polycarbonate glass disk serving as part of the rover's calibration target. It will serve as an optical target for the WATSON imager and a spectroscopic standard for the SHERLOC instrument. The disk is made of a prototype astronaut helmet visor material that will be tested for its potential use in crewed missions to Mars. Designs were approved by the mission leads at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), NASA Public Affairs, and NASA HQ, in addition to Groundspeak Geocaching HQ.

Tribute to healthcare workers

Perseverance launched during the COVID-19 pandemic, which began to affect the mission planning in March 2020. To show appreciation for healthcare workers who helped during the pandemic, an 8 cm × 13 cm (3.1 in × 5.1 in) plate with a staff-and-serpent symbol (a Greek symbol of medicine) was placed on the rover. The project manager, Matt Wallace, said he hoped that future generations going to Mars would be able to appreciate healthcare workers during 2020.

Family portrait of NASA Mars rovers

One of the external plates of Perseverance includes a simplified representation of all previous NASA Martian rovers, Sojourner, Spirit, Opportunity, Curiosity, as well as Perseverance and Ingenuity, similar to the trend of automobile window decals used to show a family's makeup.

Parachute with coded message

The orange-and-white parachute used to land the rover on Mars contained a coded message that was deciphered by Twitter users. NASA's systems engineer Ian Clark used binary code to hide the message "dare mighty things" in the parachute color pattern. The 70-foot-wide (21 m) parachute consisted of 80 strips of fabric that form a hemisphere-shape canopy, and each strip consisted of four pieces. Dr. Clark thus had 320 pieces with which to encode the message. He also included the GPS coordinates for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's headquarters in Pasadena, California (34°11’58” N 118°10’31” W). Clark said that only six people knew about the message before landing. The code was deciphered a few hours after the image was presented by Perseverance's team.

"Dare mighty things" is a quote attributed to U.S. president Theodore Roosevelt and is the unofficial motto of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. It adorns many of the JPL center's walls.

NASA outreach to students

In December 2021, the NASA team announced a program to students who have persevered with academic challenges. Those nominated will be rewarded with a personal message beamed back from Mars by the Perseverance rover.

Gallery

March 5, 2024: NASA released images of transits of the moon Deimos, the moon Phobos and the planet Mercury as viewed by the Perseverance rover on the planet Mars.

Notes

1. Note the difference: the twin rover on Earth is powered by electric cables, while Perseverance on Mars is powered by a multi-mission radioisotope thermoelectric generator (MMRTG).
2. Aerial image by Ingenuity

See also

• Exploration of Mars
• Viking 1 (lander)
• Viking 2 (lander)
• Sojourner (rover)
• Spirit (rover)
• Opportunity (rover)
• Curiosity (rover)
• Zhurong (rover)
• Rosalind Franklin (rover) (planned mission)
• List of rovers on extraterrestrial bodies
• Comparison of embedded computer systems on board the Mars rovers

References

1. "Where is Perseverance?". NASA Science. NASA. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
2. Landers, Rob (February 17, 2021). "It's landing day! What you need to know about Perseverance Rover's landing on Mars". Florida Today. Archived from the original on February 19, 2021. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
3. "Launch Windows". mars.nasa.gov. NASA. Archived from the original on July 31, 2020. Retrieved July 28, 2020. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
4. ^ mars.nasa.gov. "Touchdown! NASA's Mars Perseverance Rover Safely Lands on Red Planet". NASA. Archived from the original on February 20, 2021. Retrieved February 18, 2021. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
5. Overbye, Dennis (February 19, 2021). "Perseverance's Pictures From Mars Show NASA Rover's New Home – Scientists working on the mission are eagerly scrutinizing the first images sent back to Earth by the robotic explorer". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 19, 2021. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
6. NASA's Perseverance Drives on Mars' Terrain for First Time Archived March 6, 2021, at the Wayback Machine NASA, March 5, 2021.
7. Staff (March 5, 2021). "Welcome to 'Octavia E. Butler Landing'". NASA. Archived from the original on March 5, 2021. Retrieved March 5, 2021.
8. ^ "Mars Perseverance Landing Press Kit" (PDF). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. NASA. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 18, 2021. Retrieved February 17, 2021. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
9. ^ Chang, Kenneth (April 19, 2021). "NASA's Mars Helicopter Achieves First Flight on Another World – The experimental Ingenuity vehicle completed the short but historic up-and-down flight on Monday morning". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 28, 2021. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
10. ^ "After Three Years on Mars, NASA's Ingenuity Helicopter Mission Ends". Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
11. NASA Science Live: Ingenuity Mars Helicopter Tribute & Legacy, January 31, 2024, retrieved February 1, 2024
12. ^ "Overview". mars.nasa.gov. NASA. Archived from the original on June 8, 2019. Retrieved October 6, 2020. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
13. "Europe To Press Ahead with ExoMars Plans Without NASA". SpaceNews. February 13, 2012.
14. Kremer, Ken (February 11, 2012). "Budget Axe to Gore America's Future Exploration of Mars and Search for Martian Life". Universe Today. Archived from the original on November 29, 2020. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
15. Vision and Voyages for Planetary Science in the Decade 2013–2022. National Research Council. March 7, 2011. doi:10.17226/13117. ISBN 978-0-309-22464-2. Archived from the original on February 11, 2021. Retrieved February 17, 2021. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
16. Wall, Mike (December 4, 2012). "NASA to Launch New Mars Rover in 2020". SPACE.com. Archived from the original on November 11, 2017. Retrieved December 5, 2012.
17. Mustard, J.F.; Adler, M.; Allwood, A.; et al. (July 1, 2013). "Report of the Mars 2020 Science Definition Team" (PDF). Mars Exploration Program Anal. Gr. NASA. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 20, 2020. Retrieved February 17, 2021. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
18. "Objectives". 2020 Mission Perseverance Rover. NASA. Retrieved September 29, 2021.
19. NASA (December 23, 2022). "Some of you are wondering about the samples..." (Tweet). Retrieved January 5, 2023 – via Twitter.
20. Perseverance's First Road Trip
21. Lakdawalla, Emily (August 19, 2014). "Curiosity wheel damage: The problem and solutions". planetary.org. The Planetary Society. Archived from the original on May 26, 2020. Retrieved August 22, 2014.
22. Wehner, Mike (April 7, 2020). "NASA's Perseverance rover got some sweet new wheels". BGR. Archived from the original on February 27, 2021. Retrieved February 27, 2021.
23. "Mars 2020 – Body: New Wheels for Mars 2020". NASA/JPL. Archived from the original on July 26, 2019. Retrieved July 6, 2018. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
24. "Mars 2020 Rover – Wheels". NASA. Archived from the original on June 29, 2019. Retrieved July 9, 2018. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
25. Meyer, Mal (February 19, 2021). "Biddeford company creates critical part for Mars rover 'Perseverance' to land safely". WGME. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
26. "Mars 2020 Rover's 7-Foot-Long Robotic Arm Installed". mars.nasa.gov. June 28, 2019. Archived from the original on December 5, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2019. The main arm includes five electrical motors and five joints (known as the shoulder azimuth joint, shoulder elevation joint, elbow joint, wrist joint and turret joint). Measuring 7 feet (2.1 meters) long, the arm will allow the rover to work as a human geologist would: by holding and using science tools with its turret, which is essentially its hand. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
27. "Inside Perseverance: How Maxar Robotics Will Enable a Historic Mars…".
28. "The Extraordinary Sample-Gathering System of NASA's Perseverance Mars". June 2, 2020.
29. ^ Staff (2021). "Messages on Mars Perseverance Rover". NASA. Archived from the original on March 2, 2021. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
30. "NASAfacts: Mars 2020/Perseverance" (PDF). July 26, 2020. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 26, 2020. Retrieved August 13, 2020. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
31. ^ "Mars 2020 Rover Tech Specs". JPL/NASA. Archived from the original on July 26, 2019. Retrieved July 6, 2018. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
32. "Prototyping an Onboard Scheduler for the Mars 2020 Rover" (PDF). NASA. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 18, 2021. Retrieved July 30, 2020. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
33. "Communications". NASA. Archived from the original on January 28, 2021. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
34. "Sounds of Perseverance Mars Rover Driving – Sol 16 (16 minutes)". nasa.gov. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Archived from the original on March 20, 2021. Retrieved October 1, 2021.
35. Webster, Guy; Brown, Dwayne (January 21, 2014). "NASA Receives Mars 2020 Rover Instrument Proposals for Evaluation". NASA. Archived from the original on November 12, 2020. Retrieved January 21, 2014. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
36. Timmer, John (July 31, 2014). "NASA announces the instruments for the next Mars rover". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on January 20, 2015. Retrieved March 7, 2015.
37. Brown, Dwayne (July 31, 2014). "Release 14-208 – NASA Announces Mars 2020 Rover Payload to Explore the Red Planet as Never Before". NASA. Archived from the original on April 1, 2019. Retrieved July 31, 2014. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
38. Brown, Dwayne (July 31, 2014). "NASA Announces Mars 2020 Rover Payload to Explore the Red Planet as Never Before". NASA. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved July 31, 2014. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
39. Potter, Sean (April 21, 2021). "NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover Extracts First Oxygen from Red Planet". NASA. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
40. Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). "Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment (MOXIE)". techport.nasa.gov. NASA. Archived from the original on October 17, 2020. Retrieved December 28, 2019. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
41. Hecht, M.; Hoffman, J.; Rapp, D.; McClean, J.; SooHoo, J.; Schaefer, R.; Aboobaker, A.; Mellstrom, J.; Hartvigsen, J.; Meyen, F.; Hinterman, E. (2021). "Mars Oxygen ISRU Experiment (MOXIE)". Space Science Reviews. 217 (1): 9. Bibcode:2021SSRv..217....9H. doi:10.1007/s11214-020-00782-8. hdl:1721.1/131816.2. ISSN 0038-6308. S2CID 106398698. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
42. Webster, Guy (July 31, 2014). "Mars 2020 Rover's PIXL to Focus X-Rays on Tiny Targets". NASA. Archived from the original on June 22, 2020. Retrieved July 31, 2014. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
43. "Adaptive sampling for rover x-ray lithochemistry" (PDF). David Ray Thompson. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 8, 2014.
44. Allwood, Abigail C.; Wade, Lawrence A.; Foote, Marc C.; Elam, William Timothy; Hurowitz, Joel A.; Battel, Steven; Dawson, Douglas E.; Denise, Robert W.; Ek, Eric M.; Gilbert, Martin S.; King, Matthew E. (2020). "PIXL: Planetary Instrument for X-Ray Lithochemistry". Space Science Reviews. 216 (8): 134. Bibcode:2020SSRv..216..134A. doi:10.1007/s11214-020-00767-7. ISSN 0038-6308. S2CID 229416825. Archived from the original on February 27, 2021. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
45. "RIMFAX, The Radar Imager for Mars' Subsurface Experiment". NASA. July 2016. Archived from the original on December 22, 2019. Retrieved July 19, 2016. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
46. Chung, Emily (August 19, 2014). "Mars 2020 rover's RIMFAX radar will 'see' deep underground". cbc.ca. Canadian Broadcasting Corp. Archived from the original on September 25, 2020. Retrieved August 19, 2014.
47. "University of Toronto scientist to play key role on Mars 2020 Rover Mission". Archived from the original on August 6, 2020. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
48. Hamran, Svein-Erik; Paige, David A.; Amundsen, Hans E. F.; Berger, Tor; Brovoll, Sverre; Carter, Lynn; Damsgård, Leif; Dypvik, Henning; Eide, Jo; Eide, Sigurd; Ghent, Rebecca (2020). "Radar Imager for Mars' Subsurface Experiment – RIMFAX". Space Science Reviews. 216 (8): 128. Bibcode:2020SSRv..216..128H. doi:10.1007/s11214-020-00740-4. hdl:10852/81406. ISSN 0038-6308.
49. "In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU)". Archived from the original on April 2, 2015.
50. "NASA Administrator Signs Agreements to Advance Agency's Journey to Mars". NASA. June 16, 2015. Archived from the original on November 8, 2020. Retrieved March 14, 2020. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
51. Manrique, J. A.; Lopez-Reyes, G.; Cousin, A.; Rull, F.; Maurice, S.; Wiens, R. C.; Madsen, M. B.; Madariaga, J. M.; Gasnault, O.; Aramendia, J.; Arana, G. (2020). "SuperCam Calibration Targets: Design and Development". Space Science Reviews. 216 (8): 138. Bibcode:2020SSRv..216..138M. doi:10.1007/s11214-020-00764-w. ISSN 0038-6308. PMC 7691312. PMID 33281235.
52. Kinch, K. M.; Madsen, M. B.; Bell, J. F.; Maki, J. N.; Bailey, Z. J.; Hayes, A. G.; Jensen, O. B.; Merusi, M.; Bernt, M. H.; Sørensen, A. N.; Hilverda, M. (2020). "Radiometric Calibration Targets for the Mastcam-Z Camera on the Mars 2020 Rover Mission". Space Science Reviews. 216 (8): 141. Bibcode:2020SSRv..216..141K. doi:10.1007/s11214-020-00774-8. hdl:10261/234124. ISSN 0038-6308.
53. Bell, J. F.; Maki, J. N.; Mehall, G. L.; Ravine, M. A.; Caplinger, M. A.; Bailey, Z. J.; Brylow, S.; Schaffner, J. A.; Kinch, K. M.; Madsen, M. B.; Winhold, A. (2021). "The Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover Mast Camera Zoom (Mastcam-Z) Multispectral, Stereoscopic Imaging Investigation". Space Science Reviews. 217 (1): 24. Bibcode:2021SSRv..217...24B. doi:10.1007/s11214-020-00755-x. ISSN 0038-6308. PMC 7883548. PMID 33612866.
54. Webster, Guy (July 31, 2014). "SHERLOC to Micro-Map Mars Minerals and Carbon Rings". NASA. Archived from the original on June 26, 2020. Retrieved July 31, 2014. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
55. "SHERLOC: Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman and Luminescence for Organics and Chemicals, an Investigation for 2020" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on September 28, 2020. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
56. "Microphones on Mars 2020". NASA. Archived from the original on March 29, 2019. Retrieved December 3, 2019. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
57. Strickland, Ashley (July 15, 2016). "New Mars 2020 rover will be able to "hear" the Red Planet". cnn.com. CNN News. Archived from the original on October 16, 2020. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
58. Maki, J. N.; Gruel, D.; McKinney, C.; Ravine, M. A.; Morales, M.; Lee, D.; Willson, R.; Copley-Woods, D.; Valvo, M.; Goodsall, T.; McGuire, J. (2020). "The Mars 2020 Engineering Cameras and Microphone on the Perseverance Rover: A Next-Generation Imaging System for Mars Exploration". Space Science Reviews. 216 (8): 137. Bibcode:2020SSRv..216..137M. doi:10.1007/s11214-020-00765-9. ISSN 0038-6308. PMC 7686239. PMID 33268910.
59. "Mars mission readies tiny chopper for Red Planet flight". BBC News. August 29, 2019. Archived from the original on December 5, 2020. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
60. Chang, Kenneth (May 12, 2018). "A Helicopter on Mars? NASA Wants to Try". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 17, 2020. Retrieved May 12, 2018.
61. Gush, Loren (May 11, 2018). "NASA is sending a helicopter to Mars to get a bird's-eye view of the planet – The Mars Helicopter is happening, y'all". The Verge. Archived from the original on December 6, 2020. Retrieved May 11, 2018.
62. Volpe, Richard. "2014 Robotics Activities at JPL" (PDF). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. NASA. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 21, 2021. Retrieved September 1, 2015. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
63. First Flight of the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter: Live from Mission Control. NASA. April 19, 2021. Retrieved April 19, 2021 – via YouTube.
64. "Work Progresses Toward Ingenuity's First Flight on Mars". NASA Mars Helicopter Tech Demo. NASA. April 12, 2021.
65. "Mars Helicopter completed full-speed spin test". Twitter. NASA. April 17, 2021. Retrieved April 17, 2021.
66. "Mars Helicopter Tech Demo". Watch Online. NASA. April 18, 2021. Retrieved April 18, 2021.
67. Mccurdy, Christen (April 17, 2021). "Mars Ingenuity flight scheduled for Monday, NASA says". Mars Daily. ScienceDaily. Retrieved April 18, 2021.
68. Berger, Eric (February 26, 2024). "Final images of Ingenuity reveal an entire blade broke off the helicopter - This new data should help us understand Ingenuity's final moments on Mars". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on February 26, 2024. Retrieved February 26, 2024.
69. ^ "Name the Rover". mars.nasa.gov. NASA. Archived from the original on November 21, 2020. Retrieved October 20, 2020. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
70. Amanda Kooser (September 5, 2020). "NASA's Perseverance Mars rover has an Earth twin named Optimism". C/Net. Archived from the original on November 28, 2020. Retrieved February 25, 2021.
71. Drake, Nadia (July 30, 2020). "NASA's newest Mars rover begins its journey to hunt for alien life". nationalgeographic.com. National Geographic. Archived from the original on July 30, 2020. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
72. "Mission Timeline > Cruise". mars.nasa.gov. NASA. Archived from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved January 20, 2021. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
73. "Perseverance: Nasa rover begins key drive to find life on Mars". BBC News. May 17, 2022. Retrieved May 19, 2022.
74. "Perseverance Rover Landing Site Map". mars.nasa.gov. NASA. Archived from the original on February 22, 2021. Retrieved February 19, 2021. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
75. ^ Mehta, Jatan (February 17, 2021). "How NASA Aims to Achieve Perseverance's High-Stakes Mars Landing". Scientific American. Archived from the original on February 26, 2021. Retrieved February 25, 2021.
76. "Al Chen, at 26:11, of NASA Press Conference Transcript February 22: Perseverance Rover Searches for Life on Mars". Rev. February 22, 2021. Archived from the original on March 2, 2021. Retrieved February 27, 2021.
77. NASA/JPL-Caltech (February 18, 2021). "Images from the Mars Perseverance Rover – Mars Perseverance Sol 0: Front Left Hazard Avoidance Camera (Hazcam)". mars.nasa.gov. Archived from the original on February 26, 2021. Retrieved February 25, 2021.
78. Lakdawalla, Emily (January 28, 2021). "Coming Soon: Perseverance Sol 0". Patreon.
79. "HiRISE Captured Perseverance During Descent to Mars". NASA. February 19, 2021. Archived from the original on February 22, 2021. Retrieved February 25, 2021.
80. ^ Smith, Yvette (February 2, 2021). "Astrobiologist Kennda Lynch Uses Analogs on Earth to Find Life on Mars" Archived March 1, 2021, at the Wayback Machine. NASA. Retrieved 2021-03-02.
81. ^ Daines, Gary (August 14, 2020). "Season 4, Episode 15 Looking For Life in Ancient Lakes". Archived February 19, 2021, at the Wayback Machine Gravity Assist. NASA. Podcast. Retrieved 2021-03-02.
82. Strickland, Ashley (February 23, 2021). "NASA shares first video and audio, new images from Mars Perseverance rover". CNN. Retrieved May 2, 2021.
83. Crane, Leah (February 22, 2021). "Perseverance rover has sent back stunning video and audio from Mars". New Scientist. Retrieved May 2, 2021.
84. Ravanis, Eleni (June 2, 2022). "Perseverance Has a Pet Rock!". NASA. Retrieved June 10, 2022.
85. Marples, Megan (June 9, 2022). "Perseverance rover has made a friend on Mars". CNN. Retrieved June 10, 2022.
86. Baker, Harry (April 24, 2023). "NASA's Perseverance rover loses its hitchhiking 'pet rock' after more than a year together on Mars". Live Science. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
87. Kooser, Amanda (June 1, 2024). "NASA Mars Rover Picks Up Pet Rock Named 'Dwayne'". Forbes. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
88. „Where is the rover”
89. Erik Klemetti (February 18, 2021). "Jezero Crater: Perseverance rover will soon explore geology of ancient crater lake". Astronomy.com. Retrieved June 22, 2021.
90. mars.nasa.gov (March 5, 2021). "Perseverance Is Roving on Mars – NASA's Mars Exploration Program". NASA’s Mars Exploration Program. Archived from the original on March 6, 2021. Retrieved March 6, 2021.
91. mars.nasa.gov. "Perseverance Rover Mars Rock Samples". NASA Mars Exploration. Archived from the original on November 11, 2022. Retrieved December 25, 2023.
92. "Nobody Tell Elmo About Issole". nasa.gov. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
93. mars.nasa.gov (August 26, 2021). "NASA's Perseverance Plans Next Sample Attempt". NASA’s Mars Exploration Program. Retrieved August 27, 2021.
94. "Sample Caching Dry Run, 1st sample tube cached". Twitter. Retrieved August 27, 2021.
95. mars.nasa.gov. "Perseverance Sample Tube 266". NASA’s Mars Exploration Program. Retrieved September 9, 2021.
96. "NASA's Perseverance Rover Scientists Find Intriguing Mars Rock". Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
97. "Has NASA's Mars rover Perseverance found evidence of ancient life?". cosmosmagazine.com. July 27, 2024. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
98. "Cost of Perseverance". The Planetary Society. Archived from the original on February 18, 2021. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
99. "The Cost of Perseverance, in Context". The Planetary Society. Archived from the original on March 11, 2021. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
100. "Answering Your (Mars 2020) Questions: Perseverance vs. Curiosity Rover Hardware". TechBriefs. June 19, 2020. Archived from the original on September 20, 2020. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
101. NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover (official account) (March 30, 2020). "Some of you spotted the special message I'm carrying to Mars along with the 10.9+ million names you all sent in. "Explore As One" is written in Morse code in the Sun's rays, which connect our home planet with the one I'll explore. Together, we persevere" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
102. "10.9 Million Names Now Aboard NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover". Mars Exploration Program. NASA. March 26, 2020. Archived from the original on December 9, 2020. Retrieved July 30, 2020. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
103. "5 Hidden Gems Are Riding Aboard NASA's Perseverance Rover". NASA. December 8, 2020. Archived from the original on February 17, 2021. Retrieved February 16, 2021. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
104. "Geocaching on Mars: An Interview with NASA's Dr. Francis McCubbin". Geocaching Official Blog. February 9, 2021. Archived from the original on February 21, 2021. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
105. "Geocaching and NASA head to Mars with the Perseverance Rover". Geocaching Official Blog. July 28, 2020. Archived from the original on February 16, 2021. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
106. "NASA's Perseverance rover to test future spacesuit materials on Mars". collectSpace. Archived from the original on February 18, 2021. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
107. Wall, Mike (June 17, 2020). "NASA's next Mars rover carries tribute to healthcare workers fighting coronavirus". space.com. Archived from the original on December 16, 2020. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
108. Weitering, Hanneke (February 25, 2021). "NASA's Perseverance rover on Mars is carrying an adorable 'family portrait' of Martian rovers". Space.com. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
109. "Mars rover's giant parachute carried a secret message". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 26, 2021.
110. Belam, Martin (February 23, 2021). "'Dare mighty things': hidden message found on Nasa Mars rover parachute". The Guardian. Archived from the original on February 26, 2021. Retrieved February 26, 2021.
111. Chang, Kenneth (February 24, 2021). "NASA Sent a Secret Message to Mars. Meet the People Who Decoded It". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 25, 2021. Retrieved February 26, 2021.
112. Roosevelt, Theodore. "Dare mighty things". Archived from the original on February 23, 2021. Retrieved March 2, 2021.
113. Chang, Kenneth (April 27, 2022). "NASA Sees 'Otherworldly' Wreckage on Mars With Ingenuity Helicopter – The debris was part of the equipment that helped the Perseverance mission safely land on the red planet in 2021". The New York Times. Retrieved April 28, 2022.

External links

• Mars 2020 and Perseverance rover official site at NASA
• Mars 2020: Overview (2:58; July 27, 2020; NASA) on YouTube
• Mars 2020: Launch of rover (6:40; July 30, 2020) on YouTube
• Mars 2020: Launch of rover (1:11; July 30, 2020; NASA) on YouTube
• Mars 2020: Landing of rover (3:25; February 18, 2021; NASA) on YouTube
• Mars 2020: Landing of rover (3:55pm/et/usa, 18 February 2021
• Mars 2020 Perseverance Launch Press Kit
• Video: Mars Perseverance rover/Ingenuity helicopter report (9 May 2021; CBS-TV, 60 Minutes; 13:33)
• Mars Guy. Short and concise weekly updates of NASA's Perseverance mission
• Official archive of all raw images taken by the rover's and helicopter's cameras
• Official archive of all Mastcam-Z images in two different calibrations
• Nonofficial archive of daily color-calibrated images in Ultra HDR taken by the rover's Navcam, Hazcam, Watson cam and the helicopter's RTE camera

v t e Mars 2020
Timeline of Mars 2020
Payloads	Perseverance rover Ingenuity helicopter (list of flights)
Rover instruments	Hazcam Mastcam-Z MEDA MOXIE Navcam PIXL RIMFAX Rover embedded computers SHERLOC SuperCam
Features	MarsDial Multi-mission radioisotope thermoelectric generator Rocker-bogie Sky crane
Proposed landing sites	Selected Jezero crater Finalists Columbia Hills in Gusev crater Jezero crater Syrtis Major Planum Other Eberswalde crater Holden crater Mawrth Vallis Nili Fossae Melas Chasma
Related	Octavia E. Butler Landing Wright Brothers Field Cheyava Falls Exploration of Mars
Category Solar System portal

v t e Mars rovers
Past missions	PrOP-M Sojourner Mars Pathfinder Spirit and Opportunity Mars Exploration Rover Timeline of Opportunity Timeline of Spirit Zhurong Tianwen-1
Current missions	Curiosity Mars Science Laboratory timeline Perseverance Mars 2020 timeline
Planned missions	Rosalind Franklin ExoMars
Related	Rover embedded computers Crewed Mars rover Lunar rover Lunar Roving Vehicle List of rovers on extraterrestrial bodies Mars landing Sky crane Good Night Oppy (documentary)
Missions are ordered by launch date. Sign indicates failure en route or before intended mission data returned.

v t e 2020 in space
« 2019 2021 »
Space probe launches	Solar Orbiter (Feb 2020) Hope (Jul 2020) Tianwen-1 (Jul 2020) Mars 2020 (Jul 2020) Perseverance rover Mars Helicopter Ingenuity Chang'e 5 (lunar sample return mission; Nov 2020)
Impact events	2020 China bolide
Selected NEOs	Asteroid close approaches 594913 ꞌAylóꞌchaxnim 2020 BX12 2020 CW 2020 CD3 (temporary satellite) (52768) 1998 OR2 2020 HS7 2020 JJ 2020 LD (163348) 2002 NN4 2020 OY4 2020 QG 2011 ES4 2018 VP1 2020 SO (space debris) 2020 SW 2020 SL1 2020 UA 2020 VV 2020 VT4 (153201) 2000 WO107 (501647) 2014 SD224 2020 XL5
Exoplanets	AU Mic b Gliese 229 Ac Gliese 414 Ab Ac Gliese 433 b c d GJ 1151 b radio emissions K2-315b Kepler-1649c KOI-456.04 Lacaille 9352 b c M51-ULS-1b OGLE-2016-BLG-1928 (rogue planet) Tau Ceti j (predicted) TOI-561 b c d e TOI-700 b c d TOI-732 b c TOI-1338 b TOI-1339 b c d TYC 8998-760-1 c WD 1856+534 b
Discoveries	Betelgeuse dimming FRB 180916 location and periodicity Radcliffe wave Ophiuchus Supercluster explosion PSO J03094+27 (distant blazar) 2MASS J1047+21 wind speed measurements SGR 1935+2154 (soft gamma ray repeater) HR 6819 black hole hypothesis PHL 293B ending of P Cygni profile hydrogen emission lines Swift J1818.0–1607 (young magnetar) GW190814 (announced) South Pole Wall GW190521 (announced) Phosphine detection in the atmosphere of Venus Water detection on the sunlit surface of the Moon
Comets	C/2019 Y4 (ATLAS) P/2019 LD2 (ATLAS) C/2017 T2 (PANSTARRS) C/2020 F8 (SWAN) C/2019 U6 (LEMMON) C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE) 2P/Encke 88P/Howell 156P/Russell–LINEAR
Space exploration	Spitzer retirement (Jan 2020) BepiColombo (Earth gravity assist; Apr 2020, Venus gravity assist; Oct 2020) OSIRIS-REx (sample collection from asteroid Bennu; Oct 2020) Hayabusa2 (sample return from asteroid Ryugu; Dec 2020) Chang'e 5 (lunar sample return; Dec 2020)
Outer space portal Category:2019 in outer space — Category:2020 in outer space — Category:2021 in outer space

v t e 2021 in space
« 2020 2022 »
Space probe and telescope launches	Tiangong space station Tianhe (April 2021) Lucy (Oct 2021) DART / LICIACube (Nov 2021) James Webb Space Telescope (Dec 2021)
Impact events	Winchcombe meteorite
Selected NEOs	Asteroid close approaches 2021 AV7 2020 XR 2016 DV1 2021 DW1 99942 Apophis (231937) 2001 FO32 2021 GW4 2021 PH27 2016 AJ193 2021 SG 2021 TP21 2021 UA1 2019 XS 3361 Orpheus 1994 WR12 4660 Nereus (163899) 2003 SD220 2018 AH
Exoplanets	Alpha Centauri Ab (unconfirmed) COCONUTS-2b Gliese 486 HD 108236 f HD 110082 b Kepler-1704b KOI-5Ab L 98-59 e f? Lalande 21185 c Lambda Serpentis b LHS 1678 b c NGTS-13b NGTS-14Ab OGLE-2019-BLG-0960Lb PDS 70c circumplanetary disk TIC 172900988 b TOI-178 b c d e f g TOI-755 b c Vega b (unconfirmed) YSES 2 b
Discoveries	QSO J0313−1806 (distant quasar) ID2299 (elliptical galaxy) TIC 168789840 sextuple system V723 Mon black hole candidate 2018 AG37 (TNO) 2021 DR15 (TNO) ALESS 073.1 (spiral galaxy) PJ352–15 astrophysical jet 2MASS J0348−6022 (rapidly-rotating brown dwarf) ZTF J1901+1458 (massive white dwarf) WISE 1534–1043 (brown dwarf) 1 moon of Jupiter 1 moon of Saturn Andy's object (radio source)
Comets	C/2021 A1 (Leonard) C/2021 J1 (Maury-Attard) (248370) 2005 QN173 8P/Tuttle C/2014 OG392 (PanSTARRS) C/2014 UN271 (Bernardinelli-Bernstein) C/2021 T4 (Lemmon) P/2021 U3 (Attard-Maury)
Space exploration	Hope Mars mission (Mars orbit insertion: Feb 2021) Mars 2020 (Mars orbit insertion: Feb 2021; Perseverance Mars landing: Feb 2021) Tianwen-1 (Mars orbit insertion: Feb 2021; Zhurong rover Mars landing: May 2021)
Outer space portal Category:2020 in outer space — Category:2021 in outer space — Category:2022 in outer space

v t e Spacecraft missions to Mars
List of missions to Mars List of Mars orbiters List of artificial objects on Mars
Active	Flybys Psyche (2023, flyby in 2026) Hera (2024, flyby in 2025) Europa Clipper (2024, flyby in 2025) Orbiters 2001 Mars Odyssey Mars Express Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter timeline MAVEN ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter Hope Tianwen-1 orbiter Rovers Curiosity Mars Science Laboratory timeline Perseverance Mars 2020 timeline
Past	Flybys Mars 1 Mariner 4 Zond 2 Mariner 6 and 7 Mars 6 Mars 7 Rosetta Dawn Mars Cube One Orbiters Mars 2 Mars 3 Mariner 9 Mars 4 Mars 5 Viking program Viking 1 Viking 2 Phobos program Phobos 1 Phobos 2 Mars Observer Mars Global Surveyor Nozomi Mars Climate Orbiter Mangalyaan Landers Mars 2 Mars 3 Mars 6 Mars 7 Viking 1 Viking 2 Mars Pathfinder Mars Polar Lander / Deep Space 2 Beagle 2 Phoenix ExoMars Schiaparelli InSight Tianwen-1 lander Rovers PrOP-M Sojourner Mars Exploration Rover Spirit timeline Opportunity timeline Zhurong Aircraft Ingenuity helicopter flights Mars 2020
Failed launches Mars 1M No.1 1M No.2 2MV-4 No.1 2MV-3 No.1 Mariner 3 Mars 2M No.521 2M No.522 Mariner 8 Mars 3MS No.170 Mars 96 Fobos-Grunt / Yinghuo-1
Future	Planned EscaPADE (2025) Tera-hertz Explorer (TEREX) (mid 2020s) Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) (2026) Mangalyaan-2 (2026) Tianwen-3 (2028) Rosalind Franklin (2028) MBR Explorer (2028, flyby in 2031) NASA-ESA Mars Sample Return Mars Sample Recovery Helicopters Kazachok Proposed MAGGIE SpaceX Mars program Mars-Grunt
Cancelled or not developed Aerial Regional-scale Environmental Survey Astrobiology Field Laboratory Beagle 3 Biological Oxidant and Life Detection DePhine Icebreaker Life Marsokhod Mars 4NM & 5NM Mars 5M (Mars-79) Mars-Aster Mars Astrobiology Explorer-Cacher (MAX-C) Mars Geyser Hopper Mars Exploration Ice Mapper Mars One Mars Micro Orbiter Mars Surveyor Lander Mars Telecommunications Orbiter MELOS rover MetNet NetLander Northern Light Next Mars Orbiter PADME Phootprint Sample Collection for Investigation of Mars (SCIM) Sky-Sailor SpaceX Red Dragon Vesta Voyager Mars
Exploration	Concepts Flyby Orbiter Landing Atmospheric entry Rover Aircraft Sample return Human mission Permanent settlement Colonization Terraforming Strategies Mars Scout Program Mars Exploration Program Mars Exploration Joint Initiative Mars Next Generation Advocacy The Mars Project The Case for Mars Inspiration Mars Mars Institute Mars Society Mars race
Missions are ordered by launch date. Sign indicates failure en route or before intended mission data returned. indicates use of the planet as a gravity assist en route to another destination.

• Astronomy
• Outer space
• Spaceflight

• Individual space vehicles
• Jet Propulsion Laboratory
• Mars rovers
• Mars 2020
• NASA space probes
• Syrtis Major quadrangle
• Robots of the United States
• Six-wheeled robots
• Space probes launched in 2020
• 2020 in the United States
• 2020 robots
• 2021 on Mars
• Mars robots