Mars 2020 facts for kids
Artist's rendition of the Perseverance rover on Mars, with the mini-helicopter Ingenuity in front
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| Mission type | Mars exploration |
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| Operator | |
| Mission duration |
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| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft | |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 30 July 2020, 11:50 UTC |
| Rocket | Atlas V 541 (AV-088) |
| Launch site | Cape Canaveral, SLC-41 |
| Contractor | United Launch Alliance |
| Mars rover | |
| Landing date | 18 February 2021, 20:55 UTC |
| Landing site | Jezero crater |
  NASA (left) and JPL (right) insignias Mars Exploration Program
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Mars 2020 is a Mars rover built by NASA's Mars Exploration Program that includes the Perseverance rover and the Ingenuity helicopter drone. Mars 2020 was launched from Earth on an Atlas V launch vehicle at 11:50 UTC on 30 July 2020, and confirmation of touch down in Jezero crater on Mars was received at 20:55 UTC on 18 February 2021. As of 1 June 2025, the Perseverance rover has been on Mars for 1521 sols (1563 Earth days).
Perseverance will investigate an astrobiologically relevant ancient environment on Mars and investigate its surface geological processes and history, including the assessment of its past habitability, the possibility of past life on Mars, and the potential for preservation of biosignatures within accessible geological materials. It will cache sample containers along its route for retrieval by a potential future Mars sample-return mission. The Mars 2020 mission was announced by NASA on 4 December 2012 at the fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco. The Perseverance rover's design is derived from the Curiosity rover, and it uses many components already fabricated and tested in addition to new scientific instruments and a core drill. The rover also boasts 19 cameras and two microphones, allowing for audio recording of the Martian environment.
The launch of Mars 2020 was the third of three space missions sent toward Mars during the July 2020 Mars launch window, with missions also launched by the national space agencies of the United Arab Emirates (the Hope orbiter on 19 July) and China (Tianwen-1 on 23 July, with an orbiter, lander, and rover).
Images for kids
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Sample tubes being loaded into the Perseverance rover
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Campaign plans for 2021–2022
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Animation of Mars 2020's trajectory from 30 July 2020 to 20 February 2021- Mars 2020
- Sun
- Earth
- Mars
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A piece of fabric from the wing of the 1903 Wright Flyer airplane of the Wright brothers is attached under the solar panel of the Ingenuity helicopter.
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The Jezero crater delta on Mars, where the Perseverance rover and Ingenuity helicopter landed. Clays are visible as green in this false color CRISM / CTX image.
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Mars 2020 launching from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, at 11:50 UTC on 30 July 2020
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Diagram of the various stages of the EDL process for Perseverance
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A new crater appears on Mars after the impact of the 77 kg (170 lb) piece of tungsten thrown down during the EDL stage
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"Crater Floor Fractured Rough" is the area from which the first rock sample shall be collected
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Mars Perseverance rover – Octavia E. Butler Landing Site in the Jezero crater (5 March 2021)
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Mars Perseverance rover – Panoramic view of landing site (18 February 2021)
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The Ingenuity helicopter views the Perseverance rover (left) about 85 m (279 ft) away from 5.0 m (16.4 ft) in the air (25 April 2021)
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Mars Perseverance rover – Possible routes for exploration and study
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"Send Your Name" placard attached to Perseverance
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Sample souvenir boarding pass for those who registered their names to be flown aboard the Perseverance rover
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See also
In Spanish: Mars 2020 para niños
