The Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover Mission in Jezero Crater, Mars

<!--HTML--><div class="page"> <div class="layoutArea"> <div class="column"> <p><span><span><span style="color:black">In February 2021, NASA’s Mars 2020 Perseverance rover landed in Jezero crater, the site of an ancient lake. The mission seeks to discover signs of ancient martian life, and will collect rock, soil, and atmospheric samples for possible return to Earth. Perseverance and its field partner—the Ingenuity helicopter—have been actively exploring Jezero crater for several months, successfully coring the mission’s first rock sample. Multiple distinct geologic units have been characterized through these investigations, each containing information about the environmental history, habitability, and planetary evolution of Mars. Here I will cover the technological achievements and scientific discoveries of NASA’s Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover Mission, as well as their implications for astrobiology, planetary science, and space exploration.</span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span style="color:black">Bonus -- landing video:&nbsp;https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4czjS9h4Fpg</span></span></span></p> </div> </div> </div> CERN Colloquium - 16 September 2021: https://cern.zoom.us/j/66878365734?pwd=bEZ0aS9COUQzZ21vUzVzQ01FdG9qQT09