Witch Hazel Hill Archives - Astrobiology

The robotic arm on NASA's Perseverance Mars rover used its percussive drill to core and collect the "Main River" rock sample on March 10, 2025, the 1,441st Martian day, or sol, of the mission. NASA ID: PIA26571 larger image

Astrogeology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Sample Return

Perseverance Astrobiology Droid Cores ‘Main River’ On Mars

by Keith CowingMay 14, 2025May 14, 2025

The time-lapse movie, taken by one of the rover’s hazard cameras, is made up of 35 images taken over the course of 34 minutes. Animation available at https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA26571

Martian surface outside of Jezero Crater taken by NASA’s Perseverance on Dec. 25, 2024, at the site where the rover cored a sample dubbed “Silver Mountain” from a rock likely formed during Mars’ earliest geologic period. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS larger image

Astrogeology, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mars, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs

Perseverance Studies The Rim Of Jezero Crater

by Keith CowingApril 10, 2025April 10, 2025

Scientists with NASA’s Perseverance rover are exploring what they consider a veritable Martian cornucopia full of intriguing rocky outcrops on the rim of Jezero Crater. Studying rocks, boulders, and outcrops […]

This image from NASA’s Mars Perseverance rover, a fusion-processed SuperCam Remote Micro Imager (RMI) mosaic, shows part of the “St. Pauls Bay” target, acquired from the lower Witch Hazel Hill area of the Jezero crater rim. The image reveals hundreds of strange, spherical-shaped objects comprising the rock. Perseverance acquired this image on March 11, 2025, or sol 1442 — Martian day 1,442 of the Mars 2020 mission. NASA/JPL-Caltech/LANL/CNES/IRAP. Larger image

Astrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mars, Press Release

Mars Perseverance Examines A Rock With Hundreds Of Millimeter-sized Spheres

by Keith CowingMarch 25, 2025March 25, 2025

Last week the Perseverance Science Team were astonished by a strange rock comprised of hundreds of millimeter-sized spheres and the team are now working hard to understand their origin.

NASA's Mars Perseverance rover acquired this image using its SHERLOC WATSON camera, located on the turret at the end of the rover's robotic arm. The view is looking down at a flattened pile of tailings created by the coring of science target “Green Gardens,” so named because it contains serpentine, a mineral often green in color. Perseverance acquired this image on Feb. 20, 2025 — sol 1424, or Martian day 1,424 of the Mars 2020 mission — at the local mean solar time of 13:11:41. NASA/JPL-Caltech larger image

Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Tricorders & Sensors

New Ways To Use Droid Tools That Are Already On Mars

by Keith CowingMarch 4, 2025March 4, 2025

The Perseverance team is always looking for creative ways to use the tools we have on Mars to maximize the science we do. On the arm of the rover sits […]

NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover used its right-front navigation camera to capture this first view over the rim of Jezero Crater on Dec. 10, 2024, the 1,354th Martian day, or sol, of the mission. The camera is facing west from a location nicknamed “Lookout Hill.” Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Astrogeology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving

Mars Perseverance Rover Reaches Top Of Jezero Crater Rim

by Keith CowingDecember 12, 2024December 12, 2024

NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover has crested the top of Jezero Crater’s rim at a location the science team calls “Lookout Hill” and rolling toward its first science stop after the […]

Perseverance Mars Rover Looks Back While Climbing A Slippery Slope -- NASA

Exploration Gear & Tech, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Sample Return

Perseverance Looks Back While Climbing A Steep Slope On Mars

by Keith CowingOctober 28, 2024

NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover is negotiating a steeply sloping route up Jezero Crater’s western wall with the aim of cresting the rim in early December. During the climb, the rover […]

One of the navigation cameras aboard NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover captured this view looking back at the “Bright Angel” area on July 30, the 1,224th Martian day, or sol, of the mission. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Away Teams & Field Reports, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Exploration Gear & Tech, Habitable Zones, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mars, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs

Perseverance Astrobiology Rover Begins The Long Climb Up The Rim Of Jezero Crater

by Keith CowingAugust 15, 2024August 15, 2024

After 2½ years exploring Jezero Crater’s floor and river delta, the rover will ascend to an area where it will search for more discoveries that could rewrite Mars’ history.