Mars Perseverance Rover

The Mars Perseverance rover is the first leg the Mars Sample Return Campaign’s interplanetary relay team. Its job is to collect and cache samples on Mars.

Searching for Ancient Life
Mars Rock Samples

The Mars Perseverance rover is the first leg of NASA and ESA (European Space Agency) Mars Sample Return Campaign’s interplanetary relay team. Its job is to collect and cache samples on Mars. A Sample Retrieval Lander would land near or in Jezero Crater, bringing a small rocket on which the samples collected by Perseverance would be loaded.

The Perseverance rover is currently searching for signs of ancient microbial life, by drilling into Martian rock to collect samples of rock, soil, and atmosphere. The samples are stored in sealed tubes for future pick up, by a future mission that would ferry them back to Earth for detailed analysis. The rover is also testing technologies to help pave the way for future human exploration of Mars.

Mars Rock Samples

Learn more about the diverse set of samples the rover has collected, which could one day be returned to Earth by Mars Sample Return.

View Rock Samples
Keep Exploring

Discover More Topics From NASA

Mars Perseverance Rover

Sample Retrieval Lander

Mars Ascent Vehicle

This illustration shows NASA's Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV) in powered flight. The MAV will carry tubes containing Martian rock and soil samples into orbit around Mars, where ESA's Earth Return Orbiter spacecraft will enclose them in a highly secure containment capsule and deliver them to Earth.

Earth Return Orbiter

The Earth Return Orbiter (ERO) is one of the flight missions making up the Mars Sample Return campaign to bring martian rock and atmospheric samples back to Earth.