Science Instruments

Perseverance’s science instruments are state-of-the-art tools designed to acquire information about Martian geology, atmosphere, environmental conditions, and potential biosignatures.

Cameras
Spectrometer
Environmental Sensors

Cameras

This image, taken in the Spacecraft Assembly Facility's High Bay 1 at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, on July 23, 2019, shows a close-up of the head of Mars 2020's remote sensing mast.
This image, taken in the Spacecraft Assembly Facility's High Bay 1 at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, on July 23, 2019, shows a close-up of the head of Mars 2020's remote sensing mast. The mast head contains the SuperCam instrument (its lens is in the large circular opening). In the gray boxes beneath the masthead are the two Mastcam-Z imagers. On the exterior sides of those imagers are the rover's two navigation cameras.
NASA/JPL-Caltech

Mastcam-Z

The Mastcam-Z is the name of the mast-mounted camera system that is equipped with a zoom function on the Perseverance rover. Mastcam-Z has cameras that can zoom in, focus, and take 3D pictures and video at high speed to allow detailed examination of distant objects.

Twin Mastcam-Z cameras, shown with a pocket knife for scale
The twin Mastcam-Z cameras, shown with a pocket knife for scale, are assembled and ready for testing in this photo taken at Malin Space Science Systems, in San Diego.
MSSS/ASU

Tech Specs

Main job
To take high-definition video, panoramic color, and 3D images of the Martian surface and features in the atmosphere with a zoom lens to magnify distant targets
Location
Mounted on the rover mast at the eye level of a 6 ½-foot-tall person (2 meters tall). The cameras are separated by 9.5 inches (24.2 centimeters) to provide stereo vision.
Mass
Approximately 8.8 pounds (about 4 kilograms)
Power
Approximately 17.4 watts
Volume
Camera head, per unit:
4.3 by 4.7 by 10.2 inches
(11 by 12 by 26 centimeters)

Digital electronics assembly:
8.6 by 4.7 by 1.9 inches
(22 by 12 by 5 centimeters)

Calibration target:
3.9 by 3.9 by 2.7 inches
(10 by 10 by 7 centimeters)
Data return
Approximately 148 megabits per sol, average
Color quality
Similar to that of a consumer digital camera (2-megapixel)
Image size
1600 by 1200 pixels maximum
Image resolution
Able to resolve between about 150 microns per pixel (0.15 millimeter or 0.0059 inch) to 7.4 millimeters (0.3 inches) per pixel depending on distance
NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover used its Mastcam-Z camera to capture this rocky hilltop nicknamed “Rockytop” on July 24, 2022, the 507th Martian day, or sol, of the mission.
NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover used its Mastcam-Z camera to capture this rocky hilltop nicknamed “Rockytop” on July 24, 2022, the 507th Martian day, or sol, of the mission.
NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS

SuperCam

The SuperCam on the Perseverance rover examines rocks and soils with a camera, laser, and spectrometers to seek chemical materials that could be related to past life on Mars. It can identify the chemical and mineral makeup of areas on Mars as small as a pencil point, from a distance of more than 20 feet (7 meters). This instrument also has a significant contribution from the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales, Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie (CNES/IRAP) France.

SuperCam's mast unit before being installed atop the Perseverance rover's remote sensing mast.
SuperCam's mast unit before being installed atop the Perseverance rover's remote sensing mast.
CNES

Tech Specs

Main job
To identify the chemicals in rocks and soils, including the makeup of their atoms and molecules.
Location
Mounted on the "head" of the rover's long-necked mast
Mass
Mast-mounted sensor head:
12 pounds
(5.6 kilograms)

Rover body-mounted spectrometers:
10.6 pounds
(4.8 kilograms)

Calibration target assembly:
0.5 pound
(0.2 kilograms)
Power
17.9 watts
Volume
Mast-mounted sensor head:
Approximately 15 x 8 x 6 inches (38 x 20 x 16 centimeters).

Rover body-mounted spectrometers:
Approximately 9 x 6 x 8 inches (22 x 16 x 21 centimeters).

Calibration target assembly:
4 x 4 x 1 inches (11 x 10 x 2 centimeters); includes 36 individual targets.
Calibration target
1.18 inches diameter (3 centimeters)
Data return
15.5 megabits per experiment or about 4.2 megabits per day
Combining two images, this mosaic shows a close-up view of the rock target named “Yeehgo” from the SuperCam instrument on NASA’s Perseverance rover on Mars.
Combining two images, this mosaic shows a close-up view of the rock target named “Yeehgo” from the SuperCam instrument on NASA’s Perseverance rover on Mars.
NASA/JPL-Caltech/LANL/CNES/CNRS/ASU/MSSS

Spectrometer

SHERLOC

Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman & Luminescence for Organics & Chemicals

Mounted on the rover's robotic arm, SHERLOC uses cameras, spectrometers, and a laser to search for organics and minerals that have been altered by watery environments and may be signs of past microbial life. In addition to its black-and-white context camera, SHERLOC is assisted by WATSON, a color camera for taking close-up images of rock grains and surface textures.

A close-up view of an engineering model of SHERLOC (Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman & Luminescence for Organics & Chemicals), one the instruments aboard NASA's Perseverance Mars rover.
A close-up view of an engineering model of SHERLOC (Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman & Luminescence for Organics & Chemicals), one the instruments aboard NASA's Perseverance Mars rover.
NASA/JPL-Caltech

Tech Specs

Main job
Fine-scale detection of minerals, organic molecules and potential biosignatures
Location
Mounted on the turret at the end of the robotic arm
Mass
Turret:
6.86 pounds
(3.11 kilograms)

Body:
3.55 pounds
(1.61 kilograms) body
Power
Turret:
32.2 watts

Body:
16.6 watts
Volume
10.2 by 7.8 by 2.6 inches
(26.0 by 20.0 by 6.7 centimeters)
Data return
79.7 Mbits (raw)
Spatial resolution
2 Cameras

Autofocus and Context Imager:
10.1 micrometers

WATSON Camera:
15.9 micrometers

1 Laser:
100 micrometers
Field of view
Imaging:
0.9 to 0.5 inches
(2.3 by 1.5 centimeters)

Spectroscopy:
7 by 7 millimeters
(0.275 inch)
NASA’s Perseverance puts its robotic arm to work around a rocky outcrop called "Skinner Ridge" in a set of images captured in June and July 2022 by the rover’s Mastcam-Z camera system. SHERLOC is mounted on the end of the arm.
NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS

Planetary Instrument for X-ray Lithochemistry (PIXL)

The Planetary Instrument for X-ray Lithochemistry is called PIXL. PIXL has a tool called an X-ray spectrometer. It identifies chemical elements at a tiny scale. PIXL also has a camera that takes super close-up pictures of rock and soil textures. It can see features as small as a grain of salt! Together, this information helps scientists look for signs of past microbial life on Mars.

PIXL's sensor head before being integrated with the robotic arm at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
PIXL's sensor head before being integrated with the robotic arm at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
NASA/JPL-Caltech

Tech Specs

Main job
To measure the chemical makeup of rocks at a very fine scale
Location
Mounted on the turret at the end of the robotic arm
Mass
Arm-mounted sensor head:
Nearly 10 pounds (4.3 kilograms)

Body-mounted electronics:
About 6 pounds (2.6 kilograms)

Calibration target:
About 0.033 pounds (0.015 kilograms)
Power
About 25 watts
Volume
Arm-mounted sensor head:
approximately 8.5 by 10.5 by 9 inches
(21.5 by 27 by 23 centimeters)
Calibration targets
Diameter of each of four disks:
0.19 inches
(5 millimeters)

Pedestal base:
1.53 by 1.18 inches
(39 by 30 millimeters)
Data return
Approximately 16 megabits per experiment, or about 2 megabytes per day
This time-lapse video, which has been sped up by 24 times, uses an engineering model of one of the instruments aboard NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover to show how the instrument evaluates safe placement against a rock. If it’s determined to be safe, the rover places the instrument, called the Planetary Instrument for X-ray Lithochemistry (PIXL), close to the targeted rock for science observations. This test occurred at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California on June 8, 2023. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Environmental Sensors

Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer (MEDA)

The Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer is known as MEDA. It makes weather measurements including wind speed and direction, temperature and humidity, and also measures the amount and size of dust particles in the Martian atmosphere.

Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer
The Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer (MEDA) collects atmospheric measurements that will provide a regular weather report from Jezero Crater on Mars.
NASA/JPL-Caltech

Tech Specs

Main job
To measure weather and monitor dust with sensors from the surface of Mars
Location
Sensors are located on the rover's mast "neck" and on the deck, front and interior of the rover's body
Mass
Approximately 12 pounds (5.5 kilograms) for all components
Power
Up to 17 watts, depending on scheduled measurements
Volume
Air temperature sensors:
Each of five sensors is 2.25 by 1 by 2.7 inches
(5.75 by 2.75 by 6.75 centimeters)

Radiation and dust sensor:
5.2 by 4.5 by 5 inches
(13.2 by 11.5 by 12.5 centimeters)

Relative humidity sensor:
24 by 4.4 inches
(5.5 by 2.5 by 7.25 centimeters)

Thermal infrared sensor:
2.5 by 2.25 by 2.25 inches
(6.25 by 5.75 by 5.75 centimeters)

Wind sensors:
Wind Sensor 1 is 2 inches by 6.7 inches (5 by 17 centimeters)
Wind Sensor 2 is 2 by 15.75 inches (5 by 40 centimeters)

Instrument control unit and pressure sensor:
5.5 by 5.5 by 5.1 inches
(14 by 14 by 13 centimeters)
Data return
Approximately 11 megabytes
One of two wind sensors springs out of the mast on NASA's Perseverance Mars rover.
One of two wind sensors springs out of the mast on NASA's Perseverance Mars rover. These sensors are part of the Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer (MEDA), the rover's set of weather instrumentation.
NASA/JPL-Caltech

Mars Oxygen ISRU Experiment (MOXIE)

The Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment, or MOXIE, is helping NASA prepare for human exploration of Mars. MOXIE tested a way for future explorers to produce oxygen from the Martian atmosphere for burning fuel and breathing.

Twin Mastcam-Z cameras, shown with a pocket knife for scale
The twin Mastcam-Z cameras, shown with a pocket knife for scale, are assembled and ready for testing in this photo taken at Malin Space Science Systems, in San Diego, California.
MSSS/ASU

Tech Specs

Main job
To produce oxygen from the Martian carbon-dioxide atmosphere
Location
Inside the rover (front, right side)
Mass
About 37.7 pounds (17.1 kilograms) on Earth
Weight
37.7 pounds on Earth, 14.14 pounds on Mars
Power
300 watts
Volume
9.4 x 9.4 x 12.2 inches
(23.9 x 23.9 x 30.9 centimeters)
Oxygen production rate
Up to 0.022 pounds per hour
(up to 10 grams per hour)
Operation time
Approximately one hour of oxygen (O2) production per experiment, scheduled intermittently over the duration of the mission.

Radar Imager for Mars' Subsurface Experiment (RIMFAX)

RIMFAX uses radar waves to probe the ground under the rover.

The Radar Imager for Mars' Subsurface Experiment (RIMFAX) electronics box before being integrated into the Perseverance rover at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.
The Radar Imager for Mars' Subsurface Experiment (RIMFAX) electronics box before being integrated into the Perseverance rover at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.
NASA/JPL-Caltech

Tech Specs

Main job
To see geologic features under the surface with ground-penetrating radar
Location
The radar antenna is on the lower rear of the rover
Mass
Less than 6.6 pounds
(3 kilograms)
Power
5 to 10 watts
Volume
7 by 4.7 by 2.4 inches
(196 x 120 x 66 millimeters)
Data return
5 to 10 kilobytes per sounding location
Frequency range
150 to 1200 megahertz
Vertical resolution
As small as about 3 to 12 inches thick (15 to 30 centimeters)
Penetration depth
Greater than 30 feet (10 meters) deep depending on materials
Measurement interval
About every 4 inches (10 centimeters) along the rover track
Keep Exploring

Discover More Topics From NASA

James Webb Space Telescope

The image is divided horizontally by an undulating line between a cloudscape forming a nebula along the bottom portion and a comparatively clear upper portion. Speckled across both portions is a starfield, showing innumerable stars of many sizes. The smallest of these are small, distant, and faint points of light. The largest of these appear larger, closer, brighter, and more fully resolved with 8-point diffraction spikes. The upper portion of the image is blueish, and has wispy translucent cloud-like streaks rising from the nebula below. The orangish cloudy formation in the bottom half varies in density and ranges from translucent to opaque. The stars vary in color, the majority of which have a blue or orange hue. The cloud-like structure of the nebula contains ridges, peaks, and valleys – an appearance very similar to a mountain range. Three long diffraction spikes from the top right edge of the image suggest the presence of a large star just out of view.

Perseverance Rover

Parker Solar Probe

Juno