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 (opens in new tab), Curiosity rover (opens in new tab), ExoMars (opens in new tab)

Latest Updates

NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter flew over these sand dunes and rocks during its ninth flight, on July 5, 2021.

Mars helicopter Ingenuity gearing up for 10th Red Planet flight this weekend

By Mike Wall published

Ingenuity's 10th flight on Mars could happen as early as Saturday (July 24).

perseverance rover on mars

NASA's Perseverance rover is ready to hunt signs of life on Mars. See the 1st science results today.

By Meghan Bartels published

Even as NASA's Mars helicopter Ingenuity has captured the imagination with flight after flight on the Red Planet, the chopper's rover companion has been hard at work doing science.

NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter captured this image of tracks made by the Perseverance rover during its ninth flight, on July 5 2021.

New photos from the Mars helicopter Ingenuity's 9th flight help refine Perseverance rover science goals

By Tereza Pultarova published

A new batch of images from the recent Ingenuity flight is helping NASA scientists to refine science goals for the Perseverance rover as it searches for signs of life on the Red Planet.

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

NASA is mapping out plans for bigger, more capable Mars helicopters

By Leonard David published

Given the highly successful and ongoing flights of NASA's Ingenuity helicopter on Mars, engineers are turning their attention to future aerial craft for the Red Planet.

NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter captured this image, which features tracks made by the Perseverance rover, using its high-resolution color camera during its ninth Red Planet flight, on July 5, 2021.

Mars helicopter Ingenuity spotted a 'heart' in Perseverance rover's tracks on 9th flight (video)

By Mike Wall published

Ingenuity spotted a heart-shaped track created when the Perseverance Mars rover took a slight detour, likely to investigate an interesting rock or patch of dirt.

An image taken by the Ingenuity helicopter of its shadow on Mars during the chopper's ninth flight, on July 5, 2021.

NASA's Mars helicopter Ingenuity sails through 9th flight on the Red Planet

By Meghan Bartels published

NASA's experimental Mars helicopter, Ingenuity, has now flown nine times on the Red Planet, letting mission engineers test a host of capabilities that could pave the way for more Martian choppers.

An image taken by the Perseverance rover showing some of the robot's body, two of its six wheels and a host of tire tracks on Mars, as seen on July 1, 2021.

NASA's Perseverance rover is taking its own wheel for Mars drives

By Meghan Bartels published

NASA's Perseverance rover is picking up the pace on Mars thanks to technology that helps the robot avoid running into trouble.

NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter’s fifth flight was captured on May 7, 2021, by one of the navigation cameras aboard the agency’s Perseverance rover. This was the first time Ingenuity flew to a new landing site.

NASA's Mars helicopter Ingenuity could keep flying the Martian skies for months

By Mike Wall published

NASA's Ingenuity helicopter, which landed on Mars with the agency's Perseverance rover in February, has now completed eight Red Planet flights — and it's far from done.

An image the Mars helicopter Ingenuity captured of its shadow during its eighth flight on Mars, on June 21, 2021.

Mars helicopter Ingenuity nails 8th flight on the Red Planet

By Meghan Bartels published

NASA's experimental Mars helicopter has now flown eight times on the Red Planet, traveling farther than scientists hoped would be possible.

This image looking west toward the Séítah geologic unit on Mars was taken from the height of 33 feet (10 meters) by NASA’s Ingenuity Mars helicopter during its sixth flight, on May 22, 2021.

NASA's Perseverance rover begins 1st science campaign on Mars

By Mike Wall last updated

NASA's Perseverance Mars rover has kicked off its highly anticipated science campaign with a Red Planet road trip.

NASA's Mars helicopter Ingenuity took this photo of its own shadow with its navigation camera during its seventh Red Planet flight, on June 8, 2021.

Mars helicopter Ingenuity aces 7th flight on the Red Planet

By Mike Wall last updated

Ingenuity took to the Martian skies again on Tuesday (June 6), making its first sortie since battling through an in-flight anomaly on May 22.

This image was taken from the height of 33 feet (10 meters) by NASA’s Ingenuity Mars helicopter during its sixth flight on May 22, 2021.

NASA's Mars helicopter Ingenuity set for 7th Red Planet flight on Sunday

By Mike Wall published

Ingenuity's handlers are prepping the little chopper for its seventh Martian flight, which will take place no earlier than Sunday (June 6).

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.

Perseverance rover marks 100th Mars day on the Red Planet

By Mike Wall last updated

NASA's Perseverance rover and Ingenuity helicopter have now called the Red Planet home for 100 Martian days.

This image was taken from the height of 33 feet (10 meters) by NASA’s Ingenuity Mars helicopter during its sixth flight on May 23, 2021.

Mars helicopter Ingenuity experiences anomaly on 6th flight, but lands safely

By Mike Wall last updated

NASA's Mars helicopter Ingenuity encountered some trouble on its latest Red Planet flight, but the little chopper soldiered through.

An artist's impression of NASA's Mars helicopter Ingenuity. The "marscopter" will land with the rover Feb. 18 and soon make its first flight, the first powered flight on another world.

Mars helicopter Ingenuity: First aircraft to fly on Red Planet

By Chelsea Gohd published

NASA's Mars helicopter Ingenuity landed with the Perseverance rover on the Red Planet in Feb. 2021 as part of the agency's Mars 2020 mission.

NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter's was captured after landing on May 7, 2021, by the Mastcam-Z imager on the Perseverance rover after the helicopter's fifth flight, which ended at a new airfield.

NASA's Mars helicopter Ingenuity gears up for 6th flight on Red Planet

By Mike Wall published

The Ingenuity team is preparing the little chopper for its sixth Red Planet flight, which is expected to take place in the next week.

NASA's Mars helicopter Ingenuity flies on the Red Planet for the second time ever, on April 22, 2021. This image was captured by the Mastcam-Z camera system aboard NASA's Perseverance rover.

Watch NASA's Mars helicopter Ingenuity fly in 3D (video)

By Samantha Mathewson published

NASA shared an amazing 3D video of its Mars helicopter Ingenuity's third successful flight on the Red Planet.

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.

NASA's Perseverance rover on Mars has found some mysterious rocks (photos)

By Mike Wall published

For the past five weeks, Perseverance has been focused primarily on supporting and documenting the flights of NASA's Ingenuity helicopter. But the rover has been doing some science work, too.

An artist's depiction of a capsule full of Mars samples blasting off the Red Planet's surface.

NASA really wants a Mars sample return mission. Here's what's in store.

By Elizabeth Howell published

Plans are firming up to bring a sample of Mars back to Earth in 2031.

NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter’s fifth flight was captured on May 7, 2021, by one of the navigation cameras aboard the agency’s Perseverance rover. This was the first time Ingenuity flew to a new landing site.

NASA's Mars helicopter Ingenuity lands at new airfield after 5th flight

By Mike Wall last updated

Ingenuity made its fifth Martian flight today (May 7), cruising to a new patch of ground on its first one-way trip on the Red Planet.