Perseverance Rover Archives

(A) Summary interpolation of the extent of bedrock geologic units based on in situ mapping. The width of the mapping corridor is ∼120 m. White dots are positions occupied during the traverse for which images are available for mapping. (B) Summary of interpreted stratigraphic relationships between identified lithologic units along the Jezero crater floor traverse (A and B adapted from Crumpler et al., 2023; Fig. 19). (C) Orbital image of Jezero crater floor with the path of the Perseverance overlaid in white. (D) Inset of the crater floor campaign, with all Máaz abrasion patches shown (Guillaumes, Montpezat, Bellegarde, and Alfalfa), and the OEB (Octavia E. Butler) landing site indicated. The Guillaumes and Alfalfa abrasions are highlighted, as they are the focus of this article (altered from NASA). -- [Astrobiology (journal)]

The Possible Aqueous Origins of Manganese Alteration Minerals in the Máaz Formation of Jezero Crater

by Keith CowingJuly 28, 2026July 28, 2026

[Astrobiology (journal)] Home to a lake around 4 billion years ago, Jezero Crater is a unique location to study the interplay between igneous processes and aqueous alteration on ancient Mars.

This view looking back up at the outside lip of the 490-foot-tall (150-meter-tall) rim of Jezero Crater was taken by the Mastcam-Z instrument aboard NASA’s Perseverance on May 15, 2025, the 1,505th day, or sol, of the rover’s mission to Mars. Larger imagery -- NASA

Mars

Mars Perseverance Rover’s Panoramic View of Broom Point

by Keith CowingJuly 16, 2026July 16, 2026

[NASA] The bright-colored rocks exposed across the slope, running from middle left to middle right of the image, belong to a formation the science team calls the “Broom Point member,” […]

NASA’s Perseverance took this selfie at “Witch Hazel Hill” on Jezero Crater’s rim on May 10, 2025. The small dark hole in the rock in front of the rover is the borehole made when the rover collected the “Bell Island” sample. The small puff of dust left of center and below the horizon line is a dust devil. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS larger image

Mars

Perseverance Rover Provides A Record of Ancient Mars Impacts

by Keith CowingJuly 16, 2026July 16, 2026

[NASA] Old rocks exposed on the rim of Jezero Crater preserve a roughly 4-billion-year-old cosmic “weather report” from the solar system’s most dynamic era.

Perseverance training its mast on the “Arathusa” rocky outcrop -- NASA More information

Mars

Perseverance Astrobiology Rover – A Selfie While Working

by Keith CowingJuly 3, 2026July 3, 2026

[NASA] NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover took this selfie on March 11, 2026, the 1,797th Martian day, or sol, of the mission, during the rover’s deepest push west beyond Jezero Crater. […]

Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU Larger image

Mars

Mars Perseverance Image of the Week for Week 280 (June 21 – 27, 2026)

by Keith CowingJune 29, 2026June 29, 2026

[NASA] This photo was selected by public vote and featured as “Image of the Week” for Week 280 (June 21 – 27, 2026) of the Perseverance rover mission on Mars.

The Perseverance rover on Mars inspects a rock dubbed Cheyava Falls with the Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman & Luminescence for Organics & Chemicals (SHERLOC) instrument on its robotic arm. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Desert Worlds, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mars, Missions & Hardware

Organic Carbon Detected In The Bright Angel Formation On Mars

by Keith CowingJune 25, 2026June 25, 2026

In September of last year, NASA announced that its Perseverance rover discovered a potential biosignature, which is a substance or structure that might have a biological origin.

Schematic cross sections of Earth and Mars, showing the major internal components and atmospheric components, to scale. For simplicity, oceanic and continental crust for Earth are not distinguished, nor is the interior structure of Earth’s mantle shown. -- astro-ph.EP

Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Desert Worlds, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mars, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report, Terraforming & Geoengineering, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Mars As An Exoplanet: Lessons From A Planet At The Edge Of Habitability

by Keith CowingMay 20, 2026May 20, 2026

Mars is the Solar System’s canonical small, rocky planet that transitioned from early geologic activity and surface liquid water to a cold and arid planet with a thin, cold, CO2-dominated […]

(a) Mastcam-Z image of the base of the delta with the Rockytop outcrop within the 6 m high scarp (sol 429, zcam08452) located at the base of the Tenby formation immediately overlying the Hogwallow Flats light-toned deposits. The white arrow indicates the fallen block where the SuperCam target Fourway has been analyzed. -- JGR Planets

Astrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Desert Worlds, Exploration Gear & Tech, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Status Report

In Situ Carbonation of Sedimentary and Igneous Rocks of Ultramafic Composition in Jezero Crater, Mars

by Keith CowingMay 15, 2026May 15, 2026

Over 3.5 years of exploration in Jezero Crater, the Perseverance rover has explored several geological units of diverse origins and natures, performing multi-technique remote analyses of the chemistry and mineralogy […]

NASA’s Perseverance looks down at a rocky outcrop nicknamed “Arethusa” and then appears to look into the camera in this animated selfie, which is composed of 61 images taken March 11, 2026, during the rover’s deepest push west beyond Jezero Crater. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

Analog Studies, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Desert Worlds, Exploration Gear & Tech, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Status Report

Perseverance Rover Snaps Selfie in Mars’ Western Frontier

by Keith CowingMay 13, 2026May 13, 2026

The agency’s six-wheeled geologist took a self-portrait during its survey of an ancient landscape that may predate the formation of Jezero Crater itself.

TOP - NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover captured this 360-degree view of a region filled with low ridges called boxwork formations between Nov. 9 and Dec. 7, 2025. At 1.5 billion pixels, this is one of the largest panoramas Curiosity has ever taken. Larger image BOTTOM - NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover captured this 360-degree panorama of a region nicknamed “Crocodile Bridge” on the rim of Jezero Crater. This region holds some of the oldest rocks anywhere in the solar system. Larger image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS

Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Desert Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Sample Return

NASA’s Perseverance, Curiosity Panoramas Capture Two Sides of Mars

by Keith CowingApril 28, 2026April 28, 2026

NASA’s Curiosity and Perseverance rovers have captured two 360-degree landscapes that highlight how the missions are revealing details of the Red Planet’s formation, watery past, and potential for life (astrobiology).