NASA to Launch Mars Rover in 2020

The United Launch Alliance Atlas V booster for NASA’s Mars Perseverance rover is lifted up in the Vertical Integration Facility at Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) in F...

On Aug. 27, 2021, NASA's Perseverance rover captured this image of the science-instrument-laden turret at the end of its robotic arm getting close to the rock nicknamed "Rochette."

This image taken by NASA’s Perseverance rover on Aug. 6, shows that sample collection tube No. 233 is empty. It is one of the pieces of data sent to Earth by Perseverance showing that the rover did...

NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover carries two commercial-grade microphones, including this one on its mast. The mast microphone is part of the SuperCam instrument.

Matt Smith, flight director for the second Mars 2020 mission trajectory correction maneuver (TCM-2), studying the screens at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California.

This reel depicts key events during entry, descent, and landing that will occur when NASA’s Perseverance rover lands on Mars February 18, 2021.

The location where NASA’s Perseverance rover will observe Ingenuity’s attempt at powered controlled flight at Mars is called “Van Zyl Overlook.”

The helicopter was tested on a stand while the cruise stage was tested on the rotation fixture. 

To prepare the Perseverance rover for its date with Mars, NASA’s Mars 2020 mission team conducted a wide array of tests to help ensure a successful entry, descent and landing at the Red Planet.

This image of 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 is moved during a test of its mass properties at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The image was taken on April 7, 2020.

The Mars Helicopter team gathers for a group photo at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California on Dec. 3, 2018. 

This high-definition image was taken on Sept. 7, 2018, during the third and final test flight of the ASPIRE payload. It was the fastest inflation of this size parachute in history and created a pea...

A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket with NASA's Mars 2020 mission with the Perseverance rover rolls from the Vertical Integration Facility (VIF) to the launch pad at Space Launch Complex-...

This animated GIF shows a NASA Wallops Flight Facility C-130 soon after landing Kennedy Space Center in Florida on May 11, 2020. The cargo plane was carrying nearly 5,000 pounds (2,270 kilograms) o...

When NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover starts its quest for compelling Martian rocks, it will have quite the to-do list: Locate, drill, collect, stash, and so much more

A seven-person field team served as a simulated rover, carrying cameras and science instruments to the Nevada desert. Meanwhile, mission scientists at institutions like  NASA’s Jet Propulsion Labor...

This 3D view of an area the Mars Perseverance rover team calls “Faillefeu” was created from data collected by NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter during its 13th flight at Mars on Sept. 4, 2021.

NASA's Thomas Zurbuchen and Lori Glaze congratulate Alexander Mather during a March 5, 2020, celebration at Lake Braddock Secondary School in Burke, Virginia. The seventh grader submitted the winni...

During their only opportunity to see NASA's next Mars rover from inside JPL's clean room prior to its shipment to Cape Canaveral, members of the media interview the builders of the Mars 2020 mission.

NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover carries two commercial-grade microphones, including this one on its chassis.

NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter hovers over the Martian surface – the first instance of powered, controlled flight on another planet – as viewed by the Mastcam-Z imager aboard the Perseverance Mar...

In this image, engineers test cameras on the top of the mast and front chassis of NASA's Perseverance Mars rover. The image was taken on July 23, 2019, at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southe...

NASA’s Perseverance Rover began its long journey to Mars today by successfully launching from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on a ULA Atlas V rocket. It now begins its seven-month journey to the ...

The electricity for NASA's Mars 2020 rover is provided by a power system called a Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator, or MMRTG.