NASA's Perseverance rover is set to begin its most daring climb yet this week, embarking on a monthslong expedition up the western rim of Mars' Jezero crater to a summit scientists have called Aurora Park.
Since landing on the red planet in February 2021, the car-sized lab has collected over 20 rock cores in four campaigns, traveling a collective 18 miles. Among Perseverance's contributions are rock samples supporting the theory the crater was once a vast, watery lake around 3.5 billion years ago. The rover has not yet discovered evidence of life on Mars; some promising rock samples require analysis upon their return to Earth.
Perseverance's latest journey will see the rover climb an estimated 1,000 feet in elevation, traversing slopes as steep as 23 degrees on rocky, unpaved terrain. Scientists have identified two locations in particular for further study, with bedrock indicating a climate very different from that of Mars today.
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