TheMars 2020 mission, consisting of the roverPerseverance and helicopterIngenuity, was launched on July 30, 2020, and landed inJezero crater onMars on February 18, 2021.[1] As of February 13, 2026,Perseverance has been on the planet for 1772sols (1821total days;4 years, 360 days).Ingenuity operated for 1042sols (1071total days;1 year, 341 days) until its rotor blades, possibly all four, were damaged during the landing offlight 72 on January 18, 2024, causing NASA to retire the craft.[2][3]
Current weather data on Mars is being monitored by theCuriosity rover and had previously been monitored by theInsight lander.[4][5] ThePerseverance rover is also collecting weather data. (See theExternal links section)
The Mars 2020 mission was announced by NASA on December 4, 2012. In 2017 the three sites (Jezero crater, NortheasternSyrtis Major Planum, andColumbia Hills) were chosen as potential landing locations, with Jezero crater selected as the landing location, and launched on July 30th, 2020, fromCape Canaveral.
After arriving on February 18,Perseverance focused on validating its systems. During this phase, it used its science instruments for the first time,[6] generated oxygen on Mars withMOXIE,[7] and deployedIngenuity.Ingenuity began the technology demonstration phase of its mission, completing five flights before transitioning to the operations demonstration phase of its mission.
Perseverance rover - map of the first science campaign (yellow lines, below the landing site). The blue lines above the landing site correspond to the planned second campaign,[8] although the second campaign did not officially start until the arrival of the rover at Three Forks.
The Cratered Floor Campaign was the first science campaign.[9] It began on June 1, 2021, with the goal of exploring theCrater Floor Fractured Rough andSéítah geologic units. To avoid the sand dunes of the Séítah unit,Perseverance mostly traveled within theCrater Floor Fractured Rough geologic unit or along the boundary between the two units. The first nine ofPerseverance's sample tubes were to be filled during this expedition, including the first three 'witness tubes'.[8]
After collecting the samples,Perseverance returned to its landing site, before continuing to the delta for its second science campaign. Some of the sample tubes filled during this campaign were later stored in a designated area for the upcomingNASA-ESA Mars Sample Return mission, during the Delta Front Campaign.[10] WhilePerseverance embarked on its first science campaign,Ingenuity continued to travel alongside the rover as part of its operations demonstration campaign.[11]Ingenuity's sixth through twenty-fifth flights were completed during this phase, achieving an at-the-time speed record of 5.5 meters per second.[12]
In blue, the planned traverse ofPerseverance. The second science campaign began just before the background map transitions to black and white.
The Delta Front Campaign was the second science campaign of the Mars 2020 mission. The campaign began withIngenuity continuing to travel alongside the rover as part of its operations demonstration campaign, andPerseverance leaving the rapid traverse mode it had entered at the end of the last mission to rapidly reach the delta.[13] During the campaign,Perseverance would take a further nine samples, in addition to two further witness tubes.Ingenuity would make its 41th flight during this mission. An incident occurred in whichIngenuity was unable to sufficiently charge during the night, leading to a change in howIngenuity manages its heaters.[14] The MOXIE experiment continued to run, generating a record amount of oxygen-per-hour on Mars. The campaign concluded withPerseverance reaching the top of the delta and the completion of its first sample depot.[15]
Upper fan campaign (January 2023 - September 2023)
The Upper Fan Campaign, also called the Delta Top Campaign, was the third science campaign of the Mars 2020 mission. Whereas prior campaigns investigated areas that are believed to have been submerged in an ancient lake, this campaign investigated one of the riverbeds that used to feed into the lake.[16][17] The MOXIE experiment completed its 16th, and final, oxygen generation test during this campaign.[18]Ingenuity completed its 54th flight during this campaign. The helicopter experienced an anomaly that caused it to land outside the range of the rover, but this was ultimately resolved when the rover moved into a position that allowed contact to be restored.[19] The campaign ended withPerseverance reaching the margin carbonate geologic unit,[20] after having taken three further rock samples (and 21 overall).[21]
The Margin Campaign was the fourth of the Mars 2020 mission. The campaign was expected to last around 8 months, although it lasted closer to a year, after which pointPerseverance began the Crater Rim Campaign.[22] The campaign gets its name from the geological unit it aims to explore - the margin carbonate unit. Rocks in this unit are capable of containing traces of life, and their formation is tied to the presence of liquid water.[23]
During the campaign,Ingenuity achieved several records, including a max altitude of 24 meters (flight 61) and a maximum groundspeed of 10 meters per second (flight 62). Unfortunately, due to a failure on the 72nd flight, the helicopter blades became too damaged to fly. On January 25th, 2024, NASA declared the end ofIngenuity's mission - the helicopter's final resting place was named Valinor Hills, after a location in theLord of the Rings franchise.[2] Despite the loss ofIngenuity's blades, the core of the helicopter remained intact; it will continue to monitor atmospheric conditions for as long as it is able.Perseverance took four further rock samples during this campaign (25 overall). The campaign overlapped with solar conjunction, interfering with the ability to communicate with the rover from Earth.[24]
Engineers from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California and AeroVironment are completing a detailed assessment of the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter’s final flight on January 18, 2024, the first of its kind on an extraterrestrial planet, concluding that the inability of Ingenuity’s navigation system to provide accurate data during the flight likely caused a chain of events that ended the mission.[25]
The helicopter’s vision navigation system was designed to track visual features on the surface using a downward-looking camera over well-textured (pebbly) but flat terrain. This limited tracking capability was more than sufficient for carrying out Ingenuity’s first five flights, but by Flight 72 the helicopter was in a region of Jezero Crater filled with steep, relatively featureless sand ripples.[25]
One of the navigation system’s main requirements was to provide velocity estimates that would enable the helicopter to land within a small envelope of vertical and horizontal velocities. Data sent down during Flight 72 shows that, around 20 seconds after takeoff, the navigation system couldn’t find enough surface features to track.[25]
Photographs taken after the flight indicate the navigation errors created high horizontal velocities at touchdown. In the most likely scenario, the hard impact on the sand ripple’s slope caused Ingenuity to pitch and roll. The rapid attitude change resulted in loads on the fast-rotating rotor blades beyond their design limits, snapping all four of them off at their weakest point — about a third of the way from the tip. The damaged blades caused excessive vibration in the rotor system, ripping the remainder of one blade from its root and generating an excessive power demand that resulted in loss of communications.[25]
The Northern Rim Campaign is the fifth, currently ongoing science campaign, and the first new science campaign since the loss of theIngenuity helicopter. It was originally called the Crater Rim Campaign.[26] It has included a total elevation change of over 1000 feet (~300 meters). The main focuses of the campaign are expected to be at the regions "Pico Turquino" and "Witch Hazel Hill".[27][28] It is expected to encounter rocks as old as 4 billion years.[29][26][30]
Due to the steepness and slipperiness of terrain encountered during the campaign,Perseverance has not been able to travel as fast as expected. Despite this, it has still traveled faster than the only remaining other active Mars rover,Curiosity. Various strategies were tried to mitigate the issue.[31] Furthermore, the rover's supply of sample tubes has begun to run out, with only 10 of the original 43 sample tubes remaining unused as of August 2025.[32] Two of those tubes have been retired because of worries that the process of using them may cause components of the rover to catch on each other in a dangerous way.[33] Despite these setbacks,Perseverance has performed well; it set a Mars record with a single-day drive of 412 meters[34], and an engineering review determined that the rover could last until at least 2031 and that its wheels would remain at optimal performance for at least 37 miles.[35]
In December 2024, the rover reached the top of the crater rim.[36] After reaching the top,Perseverance collected its oldest rock sample yet in January[37] and reached Witch Hazel Hill, one of the main focuses of the campaign, which it left in May 2025.[38] As of December 2025, it was on its way to a region called 'Lac de Charmes',[35] a plain just beyond the crater rim.[39] A Mars solar conjunction lasted from December 29th, 2025 to January 16, 2026, during which time contact with the rover was inhibited.[40]
On December 8th and 10th, 2025 (Sols 1707 and 1709),Perseverance executed a drive whose waypoints were fully planned by generative AI. While the plan was first validated by the engineering team before being sent to the rover, it marks the first use of generative AI to fully plan a drive. The drive was completed successfully, moving 210 meters on the first day and 246 meters on the second.[41]
In support of theNASA-ESA Mars Sample Return, rock,regolith (Martian soil), and atmosphere samples are being cached byPerseverance. As of July 2025,[update] 33 out of 43 sample tubes have been filled,[42] including 8 igneous rock samples, 13 sedimentary rock sample tubes, 3 Igneous/Impactite rock sample tubes, aSerpentinite rock sample tube, aSilica-cementedcarbonate rock sample tube,[43] two regolith sample tubes, an atmosphere sample tube,[44] and three witness tubes.[45] Before launch, 5 of the 43 tubes were designated "witness tubes" and filled with materials that would capture particulates in the ambient environment of Mars. Out of 43 tubes, 3 witness sample tubes will not be returned to Earth and will remain on rover as the sample canister will only have 30 tube slots. Further, 10 of the 43 tubes are left as backups at the Three Forks Sample Depot.[46]
Mars sample-return mission - Sampling Process
Context
MidView
CloseUp
Sample in drill
Sampling drill
Sample Tube 233
First Sample
21 June 2021 (2021-06-21) (Sol 120):Sealing of witness tube 1 of 5. Unlike the others, this tube was (intentionally) left unsealed before the mission left Earth.[47]
6 August 2021 (2021-08-06) (Sol 164):Sealing of sample tube 1 of 38. Attempted to take a rock sample, but only captured atmospheric gasses.
6 September 2021 (2021-09-06) (Sol 195):Sealing of sample tube 2 of 38. This was the first successful rock sample.[48]
8 September 2021 (2021-09-08) (Sol 197):Sealing of sample tube 3 of 38. Sampled from the same rock.
15 November 2021 (2021-11-15) (Sol 263):Sealing of sample tube 4 of 38.
24 November 2021 (2021-11-24) (Sol 272):Sealing of sample tube 5 of 38.
22 December 2021 (2021-12-22) (Sol 299):Sealing of sample tube 6 of 38.
29 December 2021 (2021-12-29) (Sol 307):Failed attempt at collecting the 7th sample.[49]
31 January 2022 (2022-01-31) (Sol 338):Sealing of sample tube 7 of 38. The same tube as the previous failed attempt was used, after dumping out the contents.
7 March 2022 (2022-03-07) (Sol 372):Sealing of sample tube 8 of 38.
13 March 2022 (2022-03-13) (Sol 378):Sealing of sample tube 9 of 38.
7 July 2022 (2022-07-07) (Sol 491):Sealing of sample tube 10 of 38. This was the first sedimentary rock sample taken byPerseverance.
12 July 2022 (2022-07-12) (Sol 495):Sealing of sample tube 11 of 38.
16 July 2022 (2022-07-16) (Sol 499):Sealing of witness tube 2 of 5.
27 July 2022 (2022-07-27) (Sol 510):Sealing of sample tube 12 of 38.
3 August 2022 (2022-08-03) (Sol 510):Sealing of sample tube 13 of 38.
2 October 2022 (2022-10-02) (Sol 575):Sealing of sample tube 14 of 38.
5 October 2022 (2022-10-05) (Sol 578):The 14th rock sample (15th overall, named 'Mageik') was cored; however, the rover was not able to seal the sample. The third witness tube was also opened.[50]
14 October 2022 (2022-10-14) (Sol 584):Due to a fault, witness tube 3 was left exposed to the Martian environment much longer than planned.[51]
14 October 2022 (2022-10-14) (Sol 586):Sealing of witness tube 3 of 5.[52]
16 November 2022 (2022-11-16) (Sol 589):Sealing of sample tube 15 of 38. After several attempts, the Mageik sample was successfully sealed.
29 November 2022 (2022-11-29) (Sol 632):Sealing of sample tube 16 of 38.
2 December 2022 (2022-12-02) (Sol 635):Sealing of sample tube 17 of 38.
7 December 2022 (2022-12-07) (Sol 639):Sealing of sample tube 18 of 38.
7 December 2022 (2022-12-07) (Sol 639):Sealing of sample tube 18 of 38.
21 December 2022 (2022-12-21) – 28 January 2023 (2023-01-28) (Sol 653–690):Perseverance creates the Three Forks sample depot, leaving behind 10 of the previously collected tubes at various locations in Jezero Crater.[53]
30 March 2023 (2023-03-30) (Sol 749):Sealing of sample tube 19 of 38.
23 May 2023 (2023-05-23) (Sol 802):The first attempt at filling sample tube 20; the sample collected was too small.
4 June 2023 (2023-06-04) (Sol 814):The second attempt at filling sample tube 20.
23 June 2023 (2023-06-23) (Sol 832):Sealing of sample tube 20 of 38. Successfully cached a conglomerate sedimentary rock sample after two previous attempts.
27 July 2023 (2023-07-27) (Sol 865):The first attempt at filling sample tube 21.
15 September 2023 (2023-09-15) (Sol 914):Sealing of sample tube 21 of 38. Sampling succeeded on the second attempt.
23 September 2023 (2023-09-23) (Sol 922):Sealing of sample tube 22 of 38.
21 October 2023 (2023-10-21) (Sol 949):Sealing of sample tube 23 of 38.
11 March 2024 (2024-03-11) (Sol 1087):Sealing of sample tube 24 of 38.
21 June 2024 (2024-06-21) (Sol 1216):Sealing of sample tube 25 of 38. This sample is believed to contain potential biosignatures.[54][55]
Before November 2024: NASA determined that the use of two (non-witness) sample tubes would pose a risk to the mission, due to the risk of wires on the robot arm catching on the fasteners.[33]
28 January 2025 (2025-01-28) (Sol 1401):Sealing of sample tube 26 of 36.
2 March 2025 (2025-03-02) (Sol 1434):Sealing of sample tube 27 of 36.
10 March 2025 (2025-03-10) (Sol 1441):Sealing of sample tube 28 of 36.
7 May 2025 (2025-05-07) (Sol 1498):Collection of sample tube 29 of 36. This sample has been left unsealed on purpose; this way,Perseverance can replace it with another sample if needed.[56]
2 July 2025 (2025-07-02) (Sol 1552):Collection of sample tube 30 of 36. This sample has been left unsealed on purpose.[56]
19 April 2021 (2021-04-19) (Sol 58):Flight 1.Ingenuity reached a height of 3 meters and lasts for 39 seconds.
22 April 2021 (2021-04-22) (Sol 61):Flight 2. The first flight to include horizontal displacement.
25 April 2021 (2021-04-25) (Sol 64):Flight 3. The final 'technology demonstration' flight.
29 April 2021 (2021-04-29) (Sol 68):An attempt to fly failed due to a software error.
30 April 2021 (2021-04-30) (Sol 69):Flight 4.Ingenuity traveled almost three times as far as all previous flights combined.
7 May 2021 (2021-05-07) (Sol 76):Flight 5. The first to land at a new location.
23 May 2021 (2021-05-23) (Sol 91):Flight 6. An error with the handling of data from the color camera caused the helicopter to land 5 meters away from the planned destination.
6 June 2021 (2021-06-06) (Sol 105):An attempt to fly failed due to a software error.
8 June 2021 (2021-06-08) (Sol 107):Flight 7. The color camera was not used during this flight, in an effort to avoid the error that caused the previous failure.
22 June 2021 (2021-06-22) (Sol 120):Flight 8. The color camera was still not used during this flight.
5 July 2021 (2021-07-05) (Sol 133):Flight 9.Ingenuity flew over sand dunes, which caused the flight to land 47 meters off target.
24 July 2021 (2021-07-24) (Sol 152):Flight 10.
5 August 2021 (2021-08-05) (Sol 163):Flight 11. The landing region, named 'Airfield H', would be the starting location for the next four flights.
16 August 2021 (2021-08-16) (Sol 174):Flight 12. This flight was the longest yet, lasting 170 seconds.
5 September 2021 (2021-09-05) (Sol 193):Flight 13.
18 September 2021 (2021-09-18) (Sol 206):An attempt to fly was cancelled due to a servo motor anomaly.
24 October 2021 (2021-10-24) (Sol 241):Flight 14.Ingenuity used a faster rotor spin of 2700 rpm; this was necessary due to the seasonal lowering of Mars' atmospheric density.
6 November 2021 (2021-11-06) (Sol 254):Flight 15. During this flight,Ingenuity departed from Airfield H for the last time.
21 November 2021 (2021-11-21) (Sol 268):Flight 16.
5 December 2021 (2021-12-05) (Sol 282):Flight 17.Ingenuity lost communications with the rover at the end of the flight, although it was later recovered.
15 December 2021 (2021-12-15) (Sol 292):Flight 18.
5 January 2022 (2022-01-05) – February 7, 2022 (2022-02-07) (Sol 312–344):A dust storm, and the complications arising from it, preventIngenuity from flying.
8 February 2022 (2022-02-08) (Sol 345):Flight 19.
25 February 2022 (2022-02-25) (Sol 362):Flight 20.
10 March 2022 (2022-03-10) (Sol 375):Flight 21.Ingenuity did not fly as far as planned, managing only 70 meters of a planned 350 meter flight.
20 March 2022 (2022-03-20) (Sol 384):Flight 22.
24 March 2022 (2022-03-24) (Sol 388):Flight 23.
3 April 2022 (2022-04-03) (Sol 398):Flight 24. For the first time since Sol 241, the rotor spun at a lower rate. This was due to the Martian fall having denser air than the summer.
8 April 2022 (2022-04-08) (Sol 403):Flight 25.Ingenuity flew for a record distance of 709 meters.
19 April 2022 (2022-04-19) (Sol 414):Flight 26.
23 April 2022 (2022-04-23) (Sol 418):Flight 27.
29 April 2022 (2022-04-29) (Sol 423):Flight 28.
11 June 2022 (2022-06-11) (Sol 465):Flight 29. From this flight onwards,Ingenuity's inclinometer no longer worked.[57]
20 August 2022 (2022-08-20) (Sol 533):Flight 30.
6 September 2022 (2022-09-06) (Sol 550):Flight 31.
18 September 2022 (2022-09-18) (Sol 561):Flight 32.
24 September 2022 (2022-09-24) (Sol 567):Flight 33. A small foreign object was seen attached to part ofIngenuity's leg at the beginning of the flight, although it fell off midway through the flight and caused no damage.[58]
23 November 2022 (2022-11-23) (Sol 625):Flight 34. The first flight afterIngenuity received a software update to allow it to better handle rocky, hilly terrain.[59]
3 December 2022 (2022-12-03) (Sol 635):Flight 35.
10 December 2022 (2022-12-10) (Sol 642):Flight 36.
17 December 2022 (2022-12-17) (Sol 649):Flight 37.
24 December 2022 (2022-12-24) (Sol 656):An attempt to fly failed due to an oncoming dust storm.[60]
5 January 2023 (2023-01-05) (Sol 667):Flight 38.
11 January 2023 (2023-01-11) (Sol 673):Flight 39.
19 January 2023 (2023-01-19) (Sol 681):Flight 40. With the exception the first airfield, "Wright Brother's Field", all airfields had been named according to the Latin alphabet. This was the first flight to break that tradition, moving from Airfield Z to Airfield Beta.[61]
27 January 2023 (2023-01-27) (Sol 689):Flight 41.
5 February 2023 (2023-02-05) (Sol 697):Flight 42.
16 February 2023 (2023-02-16) (Sol 708):Flight 43. This was the first of a series of flights aimed to stay ahead ofPerseverance; in the current terrain, falling behindPerseverance would likely result in being unable to flyIngenuity again due to the risk of collision with the rover.[62]
19 February 2023 (2023-02-19) (Sol 711):Flight 44.
22 February 2023 (2023-02-22) (Sol 714):Flight 45.
25 February 2023 (2023-02-25) (Sol 717):Flight 46.
9 March 2023 (2023-03-09) (Sol 729):Flight 47.
22 March 2023 (2023-03-22) (Sol 741):Flight 48.
23 March 2023 (2023-03-23) – 1 April 2023 (2023-04-01) (Sol 742–751):A series of flight attempts fail due to various issues.[63]
1 April 2023 (2023-04-01) (Sol 752):Flight 49.
13 April 2023 (2023-04-13) (Sol 763):Flight 50.Ingenuity achieved a new altitude record of 18 meters.[64]
23 April 2023 (2023-04-23) (Sol 772):Flight 51.
27 April 2023 (2023-04-27) (Sol 776):Flight 52.
27 April 2023 (2023-04-27) – 28 June 2023 (2023-06-28) (Sol 776–837):Contact lost withIngenuity due to a hill blocking radio signals.[65]
22 July 2023 (2023-07-22) (Sol 860):Flight 53. Aborted early; this was the first in-flight abort performed byIngenuity.[66]
4 August 2023 (2023-08-04) (Sol 873):Flight 54. A very brief flight to validate software modifications made in the wake of the previous flight's abort.
12 August 2023 (2023-08-12) (Sol 873):Flight 55.
26 August 2023 (2023-08-26) (Sol 894):Flight 56.
3 September 2023 (2023-09-03) (Sol 902):Flight 57.
11 September 2023 (2023-09-11) (Sol 910):Flight 58.
16 September 2023 (2023-09-16) (Sol 915):Flight 59. Achieved a record altitude of 20 meters. The first in a series of envelope-expansion flights.
26 September 2023 (2023-09-26) (Sol 924):Flight 60.
5 October 2023 (2023-10-05) (Sol 933):Flight 61. Achieved a record altitude of 24 meters.
12 October 2023 (2023-10-12) (Sol 940):Flight 62. Achieved a record groundspeed of 10 meters per second.
19 October 2023 (2023-10-19) (Sol 947):Flight 63.
27 October 2023 (2023-10-27) (Sol 955):Flight 64.
2 November 2023 (2023-11-02) (Sol 960):Flight 65.
3 November 2023 (2023-11-03) (Sol 961):Flight 66.
11 November 2023 (2023-11-11) – 25 November 2023 (2023-11-25) (Sol 969–983):Solar conjunction disrupts communication between Earth and Mars.
2 December 2023 (2023-12-02) (Sol 990):Flight 67.
15 December 2023 (2023-12-15) (Sol 1002):Flight 68.
20 December 2023 (2023-12-20) (Sol 1007):Flight 69.
22 December 2023 (2023-12-22) (Sol 1009):Flight 70.
6 January 2024 (2024-01-06) (Sol 1023):Flight 71. This flight terminated early.
18 January 2024 (2024-01-18) (Sol 1035):Flight 72. The final flight ofIngenuity; contact with the rover was lost early. It was later discovered thatIngenuity took fatal damage to its rotor blades.[67]
25 January 2024 (2024-01-25) (Sol 1043):NASA declares the end ofIngenuity's mission.[68][69]
Missions are ordered by launch date. Sign† indicates failure en route or before intended mission data returned.‡ indicates use of the planet as agravity assist en route to another destination.
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