BLOGMARS PERSEVERANCE ROVER
Blog
August 16, 2023
Delight at Dream Lake
Delight at Dream Lake
The rover has left behind the boulder field at “Fall River Pass” for now, and we’re currently investigating an enigmatic sedimentary rock unit that was first spotted by Ingenuity during its 52nd flight several weeks ago. This is a great example of how Ingenuity’s unique aerial perspective can help us scout out areas of interest ahead of the rover. This rock is located within a linear trough wes...
August 08, 2023
The Dragon’s Egg Too Tough To Crack
The Dragon’s Egg Too Tough To Crack
Perseverance spent this week on Mars roving across the top of the Jezero fan- from Mount Meeker to Dream Lake- in search of yet another sample for return to Earth. This upper region known as Lobe K is expected to contain some of the most recently deposited materials within the delta sequence, providing the opportunity to place both upper and lower bounds on the timing of aqueous activity that b...
August 01, 2023
Daily Records of Atmospheric Temperature With Perseverance
Daily Records of Atmospheric Temperature With Perseverance
Atmospheric temperature is a meteorological variable of daily concern to humans. Temperature also has a major impact on Perseverance mission operations (e.g. temperature sensors are distributed throughout the rover to monitor its thermal performance). In addition, temperature data are key to the mission’s scientific investigations of the atmosphere. The Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer (MED...
Bonjour de Paris! During the last week of June, ~170 members of the Mars 2020 Science Team convened across the Atlantic for a 4-day meeting in Paris hosted by our French colleagues from the Supercam team. The Science Team usually works remotely to operate the rover and discuss new science results, but with the severity of the COVID pandemic waning, we’ve begun hosting one in-person meeting a ye...
June 23, 2023
If at First You Don't Succeed… Persevere!
If at First You Don't Succeed… Persevere!
As discussed in last week’s blog, the Science Team has been attempting to obtain a sample of a conglomerate rock unit on top of the fan in Jezero crater. The first attempt yielded a sample that was unfortunately too small, and the second attempt was unsuccessful. Why is this rock so difficult to sample, and why are we intent on obtaining a sample?
A conglomerate rock is of special interest t...
Sampling Martian rocks requires persistence! Right now, Perseverance is on the hunt for a conglomerate rock to sample for return to Earth – a task that is proving to be challenging. Two attempts were made to core at the Onahu outcrop, but the soft rock crumbled during each attempt. The team set sights on a neighboring outcrop called Stone Man Pass, about 40 meters away, to search for a less cru...
Recently on Mars, Perseverance wrestled with sampling a crumbly rock and continued our boulder-bonanza!
We’ve been exploring the Onahu outcrop for the past 3 weeks, having previously performed an abrasion named Ouzel Falls. We saw from this abrasion that the rock is most likely a conglomerate worth sampling, but was also likely to be crumbly. The team therefore elected to drive and repositio...
May 16, 2023
What’s So Special About Large Grains on Mars?
What’s So Special About Large Grains on Mars?
The Perseverance rover has been exploring the top of the Western fan in Jezero crater for some time now, but new observations never fail to offer new insights. Sitting at the edge of Belva crater on top of the fan, Perseverance has been investigating sediments that were transported to their location via the ancient streams that flowed into Jezero. Each unique rock, boulder, or sediment that the...
May 10, 2023
Element-ary, My Dear WATSON
Element-ary, My Dear WATSON
When it comes to searching for clues about Mars’ geologic past and present, SHERLOC and WATSON are on the case! SHERLOC stands for Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman and Luminescence for Organics and Chemicals, and WATSON stands for Wide Angle Topographic Sensor for Operations and eNgineering. SHERLOC and WATSON both sit at the end of Perseverance’s robotic arm, and their names pay homa...
April 27, 2023
Ensuring Robotic Arm Safety During Abrasions
Ensuring Robotic Arm Safety During Abrasions
This past week, the Perseverance rover has driven to a rock outcrop called Echo Creek, situating itself just west of the Belva crater rim peppered with large flagstone rocks suitable for its next task: abrasion.
Although successfully executed countless times over the past two years, abrading and sampling are still non-deterministic activities. Rocks may fracture or reorient during preload ap...
About This Blog
These blog updates are provided by self-selected Mars 2020 mission team members who love to share what Perseverance is doing with the public.
Dates of planned rover activities described in these blogs are subject to change due to a variety of factors related to the Martian environment, communication relays and rover status.
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Contributors+
-
Planetary Scientist, Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum
Washington, DC -
SuperCam/ChemCam Engineer, Los Alamos National LaboratoryLos Alamos National Laboratory -
Docking Systems Engineer, NASA/JPL
Pasadena, CA -
Deputy Program Scientist, NASA HQ
Washington, DC -
Student Collaborator, University of Florida
Gainesville, FL -
Mapping Specialist, NASA/JPL
Pasadena, CA -
SuperCam, PhD Student, Purdue University
West Lafayette, IN -
Systems Engineer, NASA/JPL
Pasadena, CA -
Project Scientist, Caltech
Pasadena, CA -
Mars 2020 Student Collaborator, University of Florida
Gainesville, FL -
Student Collaborator, Purdue University
West Lafayette, IN -
Student Collaborator, McGill University
Montreal, Canada -
Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment (MOXIE) Principal Investigator, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Westford, MA -
Chief Engineer for Sampling & Caching, NASA/JPL
Pasadena, CA -
Ph.D. Student, University of California, Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA -
Student Collaborator on Mastcam-Z, Western Washington University -
Student Collaborator, University of Florida
Gainesville, FL -
Ph.D. Student, Purdue University -
Systems Engineer, NASA/JPL
Pasadena, CA -
Perseverance Deputy Project Manager, NASA/JPL
Pasadena, CA -
Student Collaborator on PIXL, University of Washington -
Imaging Scientist and Mastcam-Z Deputy Principal Investigator, NASA/JPL -
MOXIE Science Team Member, Lunar Outpost -
Assistant Science Manager, NASA/JPL
Pasadena, CA -
Ph.D. Student, Rice University
Houston, Texas -
Ph.D. Student, University of the Basque Country -
Vehicle Systems Engineer, NASA/JPL
Pasadena, CA -
Atmospheric Scientist, Aeolis Research
Altadena, CA -
Sampling Operations Deputy Lead, NASA/JPL
Pasadena, CA -
Vehicle Systems Engineer Lead, NASA/JPL
Pasadena, CA -
Co-Investigator, PIXL Instrument, Technical University of Denmark (DTU)
Copenhagen, Denmark -
Student Collaborator, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Honolulu, HI -
Robotic Systems Engineer, NASA/JPL -
Deputy Project Scientist, NASA/JPL
Pasadena, CA -
Science Operations Systems Engineer, Staff Scientist, NASA/JPL
Pasadena, CA -
Sampling Engineer, NASA/JPL
Pasadena, CA -
Project Manager, NASA/JPL
Pasadena, CA -
Chief Engineer for Robotic Operations, NASA/JPL
Pasadena, CA -
Deputy Project Manager, NASA/JPL
Pasadena, CA -
Principal Investigator, SuperCam / Co-Investigator, SHERLOC instrument, Purdue University
West Lafayette, IN
Tools on the Perseverance Rover+
The Perseverance rover has tools to study the history of its landing site, seek signs of ancient life, collect rock and soil samples, and help prepare for human exploration of Mars. The rover carries:
CAMERAS & SPECTROMETERS
- Mastcam-Z
- PIXL (Planetary Instrument for X-ray Lithochemistry)
- SHERLOC (Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman & Luminescence for Organics & Chemicals)
- SuperCam
GROUND-PENETRATING RADAR
ENVIRONMENTAL SENSORS
TECHNOLOGY DEMO
SAMPLE COLLECTION