NASA’s Perseverance rover has successfully completed a challenging climb up the rim of Mars’ Jezero Crater, reaching an altitude of about 500 meters and navigating 20% slopes with slippery footing. The six-wheeled rover spent three months on this trek, gaining significant elevation and overcoming tough terrain.
“Perseverance is ‘go’ for everything the science team wants to throw at it,” said Steven Lee, deputy project manager for Perseverance at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. “They developed innovative approaches to overcome these challenges, even trying driving backward to see if it would help.”
The rover landed on the floor of the 28-mile-wide Jezero in February as part of a mission to search for signs of past life on Mars and gather samples for future return to Earth. The team is now calling this new campaign “Northern Rim,” which will focus on exploring new geology and investigating ancient rocks.
The Northern Rim campaign aims to transition from studying rocks that partially filled Jezero Crater when it was formed to examining rocks from deep down inside Mars that were thrown upward to form the crater rim. These rocks represent some of the oldest found in the solar system, offering insights into what Mars may have looked like in its early days.
Perseverance will visit up to four different geological sites over the next year, covering approximately 4 miles of Martian ground. The rover has already left Lookout Hill and is rolling toward Witch Hazel Hill, a site featuring over 330 feet of layered outcrop.
The team is excited about this new phase of exploration, as it will allow them to investigate ancient environments on Mars recorded in the crater rim.
Source: https://www.space.com/space-exploration/mars-rovers/up-and-over-nasas-mars-rover-perseverance-reaches-peak-of-its-jezero-crater-home-video