NASA’s Perseverance rover has reached the rim of Jezero Crater on Mars after a months-long climb, marking a significant milestone in its exploration of the red planet. The rover, which landed nearly four years ago, is now facing a 4-billion-year-old landscape that has never been explored before.
The crater’s edge is geologically interesting due to its history as an ancient lake, making it a shoreline at one time. Researchers hope that the rocks outside Jezero will hold signs of life on Mars when it was warmer and wetter than today.
Perseverance climbed over 500 meters in elevation to reach the rim, its steepest climb since landing in February 2021. The rover took images along its journey and created a panorama to illustrate the steep terrain.
Its first visit outside Jezero will be to Witch Hazel Hill, a 450-meter-high stack of rocks that might hold clues to the area’s geological history. From there, Perseverance will explore rock ridges that could represent an ancient hydrothermal system, potentially hosting life or being conducive to it.
Researchers are eager to analyze the new rocks and determine if they may hold signs of life, but it will take time due to their unique composition compared to those inside Jezero. The rover’s findings have the potential to reveal secrets about Mars’ past and its possibility of supporting extraterrestrial life.
Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-04101-x