Perseverance. A fitting name for a rover that is in the midst of a year-long and over $2 billion project. On February 18, the rover landed in the Jezero Crater on Mars, a place where scientists predict a huge lake that may have existed eons ago. With water, there is always a chance for life, and Perseverance will be scavenging the rocky surface looking for any signs, even if it is prehistoric bacterial life. Nasa published this photo on Twitter of the Rover’s view:

According to Nasa, the landing went smoothly, with the rover utilizing jetpacks and parachutes to slow the descent to a mere 2 mph. 

Perseverance will continue to collect samples from the bottom of the crater for the next couple of years. In 2026, Nasa will be launching another rover to collect the samples and go into orbit around Mars. After that, NASA will launch one final trip to the Martian planet to collect the samples from the orbiting machinery, and bring them back to Earth. There is still a long road ahead, but scientists are optimistic this will open doors for continued extensive research on the Martian Planet.

You can follow along with Perseverance on Mars, and even hear audio clips from the Red Planet here.