Perseverance Mars rover

NASA's Mars rover Perseverance is scheduled to touch down on the Red Planet on Feb. 18, 2021. The new rover will search for signs of habitable environments on Mars and evidence of past microbial life. It will also cache samples of the Red Planet to return to Earth for a future Mars sample-return mission. See the latest news about NASA's Perseverance Mars rover here!

Related topics: Mars, Curiosity rover, ExoMars

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NASA's Perseverance rover acquired this image of the Ingenuity Mars helicopter on the floor of Jezero Crater.

1 year later, Ingenuity helicopter still going strong on Mars

By Mike Wall published

A year after arriving on the Red Planet, NASA's Ingenuity helicopter continues to push the limits of off-Earth flight.

Citizen scientist Seán Doran created this mosaic of NASA's Mars rover Perseverance and Ingenuity helicopter, using 62 images captured by Perseverance on April 6, 2021.

12 amazing photos from the Perseverance rover's 1st year on Mars

By Mike Wall published

NASA's Perseverance rover has now been exploring Mars for a full year, and it has captured some amazing photos during that stretch.

A "selfie" captured by NASA's Perseverance rover, which is searching for signs of ancient life on Mars.

Mars rover Perseverance sets distance record on the Red Planet

By Elizabeth Howell published

The rover topped 800 feet with a self-drive function.

NASA's Mars helicopter Ingenuity captured this image of its own shadow using its navigation camera on Feb. 8, 2022, during the chopper’s 19th Red Planet flight.

Mars helicopter Ingenuity aces 19th flight after historic Red Planet weather delay

By Mike Wall published

Ingenuity aced a 100-second sortie on Tuesday (Feb. 8), its 19th Red Planet flight overall but its first since Dec. 15. A dust storm pushed the liftoff date back by more than a month.

An artist's depiction of a rocket launching Mars samples off the planet's surface for the journey to Earth.

NASA picks Lockheed Martin to build rocket to carry Mars samples back to Earth

By Mike Wall published

Lockheed Martin will build the Mars Ascent Vehicle, a small rocket that will launch pristine Red Planet samples back toward Earth a decade or so from now.

helicopter mars

Why Mars helicopters like Ingenuity could glow in the dark

By Elizabeth Howell published

You can blame dust in the wind.

NASA’s Mars rover Perseverance captured this image of a recently collected sample using its Mastcam-Z camera on Jan. 31, 2022.

Mars rover Perseverance collects new sample after clearing pebble clog

By Mike Wall published

NASA's Mars rover Perseverance has snagged a sample to replace the material that got stuck in its throat.

NASA's Perseverance Mars rover perched atop nearby rocks to shake loose the last two stuck pebbles by twisting with one foot.

Perseverance rover does the 'twist' on Mars to shake loose stuck rocks

By Samantha Mathewson published

NASA's Perseverance rover on Mars has shaken loose the last two pebbles clogging its sampling system.

NASA's Perseverance rover managed to spit out a stuck piece of rock that had been blocking its sampling gear.

Watch Perseverance Mars rover spit out a stuck rock after choking on sample

By Tereza Pultarova published

NASA's Perseverance rover managed to spit out pieces of rock that had been blocking its Mars-sampling gear since late December.

Images acquired Jan. 9, 2022, from the Mars Color Imager instrument on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter were combined to create this view showing the presence of a regional dust storm obscuring the location of Perseverance rover and Ingenuity Mars Helicopter (white circle).

Historic Mars weather delay pushes Ingenuity helicopter's next flight to Sunday

By Mike Wall published

NASA's Ingenuity Mars helicopter has notched yet another milestone — the first weather-related flight delay on another planet.

This image of pebble-size debris in the bit carousel on NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover was acquired on Jan. 7, 2022, by the rover's WATSON camera. The image was taken to assist the Perseverance team in diagnosing an anomaly that occurred during a rock sampling on Dec. 29, 2021.

The Mars rover Perseverance has pebbles stuck in its drill. NASA has a plan to fix it.

By Elizabeth Howell published

NASA's Perseverance rover will dump its latest Mars sample to unclog pebbles from its drill.

This image of pebble-size debris in the bit carousel on NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover was acquired on Jan. 7, 2022, by the rover's WATSON camera. The image was taken to assist the Perseverance team in diagnosing an anomaly that occurred during a rock sampling on Dec. 29, 2021.

Perseverance rover chokes on Mars pebbles while collecting 6th rock sample

By Mike Wall published

Perseverance drilled and collected its sixth Red Planet rock sample on Dec. 29, but the car-sized rover has not yet been able to seal up the titanium tube containing the material.

The targeted landing zone for Ingenuity’s 19th Mars flight can be seen in this image, which the helicopter captured during its ninth sortie on July 5, 2021. The targeted landing spot is in the center of the image, just below the Perseverance rover tracks.

Mars helicopter Ingenuity gearing up for 19th Red Planet flight on Friday

By Mike Wall published

The 4-pound (1.8 kilograms) Ingenuity's next Mars sortie will take place as early as Friday (Jan. 7). The little chopper will cruise over a ridge and onto a plateau.

Mars' Jezero Crater, as photographed by NASA's Perseverance rover on Nov. 28, 2021.

Tour Mars' Jezero Crater with this gorgeous Perseverance rover mosaic (video)

By Mike Wall published

A detailed new image provides a great look at the Perseverance Mars rover's Red Planet home and shows why the mission team is so excited to explore it.

NASA's Perseverance rover acquired this image of the Ingenuity Mars helicopter on the floor of Jezero Crater.

2021 was an epic year for Mars exploration

By Mike Wall published

During this very eventful year, two nations joined the Mars club, a robot plied Red Planet skies for the first time ever and humanity kicked off an ambitious interplanetary sample-return campaign.

NASA's Ingenuity Mars helicopter acquired this image of its own shadow with its navigation camera on Dec. 15, 2021, during the robot’s 18th Red Planet flight.

Mars helicopter Ingenuity aces 18th Red Planet flight (video)

By Mike Wall last updated

Ingenuity has now spent nearly 33 minutes aloft in the Martian air and visited 10 different Red Planet airfields.

A selfie snapped by NASA's Perseverance Mars rover, which has been exploring the Red Planet's Jezero Crater since February 2021.

NASA's Perseverance rover finds organic chemicals on Mars

By Mike Wall published

Perseverance has identified carbon-containing organic chemicals in some of the rocks it's examined on the floor of Mars' Jezero Crater.

NASA's Ingenuity Mars helicopter acquired this image of its own shadow during its 17th Red Planet flight, on Dec. 5, 2021.

NASA's Mars helicopter Ingenuity passes 30 minutes of total air time

By Elizabeth Howell published

The helicopter finished its 17th flight on Dec. 5, and is getting ready for an 18th as soon as Wednesday (Dec. 15).

NASA's Ingenuity Mars helicopter acquired this image of its own shadow during its 17th Red Planet flight, on Dec. 5, 2021.

Mars helicopter Ingenuity flies for 17th time on Red Planet

By Mike Wall published

NASA's Mars helicopter Ingenuity soared through the Red Planet skies for the 17th time last weekend, but we'll have to wait a little longer to get a full accounting of the flight.

NASA's Perseverance rover captured this image of a successfully collected sample on Nov. 24, 2021, using its Sample Caching System Camera.

NASA's Perseverance rover on Mars just snagged its newest rock sample (photos)

By Mike Wall published

Perseverance just snagged its fourth Red Planet sample, drilling another core from an intriguing rock that it sampled a little over a week ago.