Facts about the Perseverance Rover
- 07
Approximately 23 pounds of rock and soil samples collected by Perseverance are sealed in special containers designed to be retrieved by a future Mars sample return mission launching in the 2030s.
- 06
Drilled samples from Mars's Jezero Crater have revealed organic molecules and seasonal methane fluctuations that could indicate past or present microbial life.
- 05
Perseverance's onboard microphone first captured audio of the rover's laser firing at rocks in March 2021, marking the first sounds ever recorded on another planet.
- 04
Perseverance collected its first Martian rock sample in September 2021, storing it in a titanium tube for eventual return to Earth by a future NASA mission.
- 03
Ingenuity, a helicopter accompanying the Perseverance Rover, completed 72 flights on Mars between April 2021 and January 2025 before losing contact.
- 02
Perseverance's wheels are 52.5 centimeters in diameter and made of aluminum with cleats designed to traverse rocky Martian terrain without puncturing.
- 01
Launched in July 2020, NASA's Perseverance Rover carries ten scientific instruments including a laser that can vaporize rock from 23 feet away.