NASA's Perseverance Mars rover has successfully reached the summit of Jezero Crater's rim, a location designated as "Lookout Hill." This ascent, which took approximately three and a half months, involved climbing 1,640 vertical feet (500 meters) over challenging terrain characterized by 20% grades.
During a media briefing held on December 12, 2024, at the American Geophysical Union's annual meeting in Washington, the science team discussed the rover's journey and future objectives. Steven Lee, deputy project manager for Perseverance, praised the rover drivers for their innovative navigation techniques, including attempts to drive backward to tackle difficult sections.
Since landing in February 2021, Perseverance has completed four science campaigns and is now embarking on its fifth, termed the "Northern Rim." This campaign will explore previously uninvestigated geological features of Mars, with plans to visit up to four sites of interest and collect multiple samples over a distance of approximately four miles (6.4 kilometers).
According to Ken Farley, project scientist at Caltech, the Northern Rim campaign signifies a shift from studying rocks that filled Jezero Crater to examining ancient Martian crustal materials that were propelled upward during a massive impact event around 3.9 billion years ago. These rocks could provide insights into the early conditions on Mars and its geological history.
The rover's first target in this new campaign is a rocky outcrop named "Witch Hazel Hill," located about 1,500 feet (450 meters) downhill from Lookout Hill. This site features over 330 feet of layered rock, which the science team intends to analyze for clues about Mars' ancient environments.
After exploring Witch Hazel Hill, Perseverance will head toward "Lac de Charmes," situated approximately two miles south. This area is expected to have remained largely unaffected by the crater's formation, providing a unique opportunity for scientific study.
Perseverance's mission focuses on astrobiology, geology, and climate history, with an emphasis on caching samples that may contain evidence of ancient microbial life. The Mars Sample Return Program aims to bring these samples back to Earth for detailed analysis.
The Mars 2020 Perseverance mission is part of NASA's broader Moon to Mars exploration strategy, which includes the Artemis missions designed to prepare for future human exploration of Mars.