This diagram shows components of the investigations payload for NASA Mars 2020 rover mission.

This image presents a selection of the 23 cameras on NASA's 2020 Mars rover. Many are improved versions of the cameras on the Curiosity rover, with a few new additions as well. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA22103

In a clean room at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, engineers observed the first driving test for NASA's Mars 2020 rover on Dec. 17, 2019. Scheduled to launch as early as July 2020, the Mars 2020 mission will search for signs of past microbial life, characterize Mars' climate and geology, collect samples for future return to Earth, and pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet. It is scheduled to land in an area of Mars known as Jezero Crater on Feb. 18, 2021. JPL is building and will manage operations of the Mars 2020 rover for NASA. NASA's Launch Services Program, based at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, is responsible for launch management. For more information about the mission, go to https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA23499

NASA's Mars 2020 Project will re-use the basic engineering of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory/Curiosity to send a different rover to Mars, with new objectives and instruments. This artist's concept depicts the top of the 2020 rover's mast. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA20760

This image of NASA's Mars 2020 rover was taken on July 23, 2019 in the Spacecraft Assembly Facility's High Bay 1 at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA23318

Engineers install the SuperCam instrument on Mars 2020's rover. This image was taken on June 25, 2019, in the Spacecraft Assembly Facility at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA23307

On Feb. 11, 2020, Mars 2020 Assembly, Test and Launch Operations Manager David Gruel watched as members of his team loaded NASA's next Mars rover onto an Air Force C-17 at March Air Reserve Base in Riverside, California. The rover was flown to Cape Canaveral, Florida, in preparation for its July launch. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA23591

This artist's concept depicts NASA's Mars 2020 rover on the surface of Mars. The mission takes the next step by not only seeking signs of habitable conditions on Mars in the ancient past, but also searching for signs of past microbial life itself. The Mars 2020 rover introduces a drill that can collect core samples of the most promising rocks and soils and set them aside on the surface of Mars. A future mission could potentially return these samples to Earth. Mars 2020 is targeted for launch in July/August 2020 aboard an Atlas V 541 rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA21635

Planning for NASA 2020 Mars rover envisions a basic structure that capitalizes on existing design and engineering, but with new science instruments selected through competition for accomplishing different science objectives.

An engineer works on attaching NASA's Mars Helicopter to the belly of the Mars 2020 rover — which has been flipped over for that purpose — on Aug. 28, 2019, at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. The twin-rotor, solar-powered helicopter was mechanically connected, along with the Mars Helicopter Delivery System, to a plate on the rover's belly that includes a cover to shield the helicopter from debris during entry, descent and landing. The helicopter will remain encapsulated after landing, deploying to the surface once a suitable area to conduct test flights is found at Jezero Crater, the rover's destination. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA23372

This artist's rendition depicts NASA's Mars 2020 rover studying a Mars rock outrcrop. The mission will not only seek out and study an area likely to have been habitable in the distant past, but it will take the next, bold step in robotic exploration of the Red Planet by seeking signs of past microbial life itself. Mars 2020 will use powerful instruments to investigate rocks on Mars down to the microscopic scale of variations in texture and composition. It will also acquire and store samples of the most promising rocks and soils that it encounters, and set them aside on the surface of Mars. A future mission could potentially return these samples to Earth. Mars 2020 is targeted for launch in July/August 2020 aboard an Atlas V-541 rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA22105

This artist's concept depicts NASA's Mars 2020 rover exploring Mars. The mission will not only seek out and study an area likely to have been habitable in the distant past, but it will take the next, bold step in robotic exploration of the Red Planet by seeking signs of past microbial life itself. Mars 2020 will use powerful instruments to investigate rocks on Mars down to the microscopic scale of variations in texture and composition. It will also acquire and store samples of the most promising rocks and soils that it encounters, and set them aside on the surface of Mars. A future mission could potentially return these samples to Earth. Mars 2020 is targeted for launch in July/August 2020 aboard an Atlas V-541 rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA22107

This artist's concept shows a close-up of NASA's Mars 2020 rover studying an outcrop. The mission will not only seek out and study an area likely to have been habitable in the distant past, but it will take the next, bold step in robotic exploration of the Red Planet by seeking signs of past microbial life itself. Mars 2020 will use powerful instruments to investigate rocks on Mars down to the microscopic scale of variations in texture and composition. It will also acquire and store samples of the most promising rocks and soils that it encounters, and set them aside on the surface of Mars. A future mission could potentially return these samples to Earth. Mars 2020 is targeted for launch in July/August 2020 aboard an Atlas V-541 rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA22108

NASA's Mars 2020 rover looks at the horizon in this artist's concept. The mission will not only seek out and study an area likely to have been habitable in the distant past, but it will take the next, bold step in robotic exploration of the Red Planet by seeking signs of past microbial life itself. Mars 2020 will use powerful instruments to investigate rocks on Mars down to the microscopic scale of variations in texture and composition. It will also acquire and store samples of the most promising rocks and soils that it encounters, and set them aside on the surface of Mars. A future mission could potentially return these samples to Earth. Mars 2020 is targeted for launch in July/August 2020 aboard an Atlas V-541 rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA22110

This artist's rendition depicts NASA's Mars 2020 rover studying its surroundings. The mission will not only seek out and study an area likely to have been habitable in the distant past, but it will take the next, bold step in robotic exploration of the Red Planet by seeking signs of past microbial life itself. Mars 2020 will use powerful instruments to investigate rocks on Mars down to the microscopic scale of variations in texture and composition. It will also acquire and store samples of the most promising rocks and soils that it encounters, and set them aside on the surface of Mars. A future mission could potentially return these samples to Earth. Mars 2020 is targeted for launch in July/August 2020 aboard an Atlas V-541 rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA22109

An engineer working on NASA's Mars 2020 mission uses a solar intensity probe to measure and compare the amount of artificial sunlight that reaches different portions of the rover. To simulate the Sun's rays for the test, powerful xenon lamps several floors below the chamber were illuminated, their light directed onto a mirror at the top of the chamber and reflected down on the spacecraft. The data collected during this test will be used to confirm thermal models the team has generated regarding how the Sun's rays will interact with the 2020 rover while on the surface of Mars. The image was taken on Oct. 14, 2019, in the Space Simulator Facility at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA23469

This image, taken on Oct. 9, 2019, at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, captures the move of the Mars 2020 rover into a large vacuum chamber for testing in Mars-like environmental conditions. Movie available at https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA23470

This 2015 diagram shows components of the investigations payload for NASA's Mars 2020 rover mission. Mars 2020 will re-use the basic engineering of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory to send a different rover to Mars, with new objectives and instruments, launching in 2020. The rover will carry seven instruments to conduct its science and exploration technology investigations. They are: Mastcam-Z, an advanced camera system with panoramic and stereoscopic imaging capability and the ability to zoom. The instrument also will determine mineralogy of the Martian surface and assist with rover operations. The principal investigator is James Bell, Arizona State University in Tempe. SuperCam, an instrument that can provide imaging, chemical composition analysis, and mineralogy. The instrument will also be able to detect the presence of organic compounds in rocks and regolith from a distance. The principal investigator is Roger Wiens, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico. This instrument also has a significant contribution from the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales, Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie (CNES/IRAP) France. Planetary Instrument for X-ray Lithochemistry (PIXL), an X-ray fluorescence spectrometer that will also contain an imager with high resolution to determine the fine-scale elemental composition of Martian surface materials. PIXL will provide capabilities that permit more detailed detection and analysis of chemical elements than ever before. The principal investigator is Abigail Allwood, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California. Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman & Luminescence for Organics and Chemicals (SHERLOC), a spectrometer that will provide fine-scale imaging and uses an ultraviolet (UV) laser to determine fine-scale mineralogy and detect organic compounds. SHERLOC will be the first UV Raman spectrometer to fly to the surface of Mars and will provide complementary measurements with other instruments in the payload. SHERLOC includes a high-resolution color camera for microscopic imaging of Mars' surface. The principal investigator is Luther Beegle, JPL. The Mars Oxygen ISRU Experiment (MOXIE), an exploration technology investigation that will produce oxygen from Martian atmospheric carbon dioxide. The principal investigator is Michael Hecht, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer (MEDA), a set of sensors that will provide measurements of temperature, wind speed and direction, pressure, relative humidity and dust size and shape. The principal investigator is Jose Rodriguez-Manfredi, Centro de Astrobiologia, Instituto Nacional de Tecnica Aeroespacial, Spain. The Radar Imager for Mars' Subsurface Experiment (RIMFAX), a ground-penetrating radar that will provide centimeter-scale resolution of the geologic structure of the subsurface. The principal investigator is Svein-Erik Hamran, the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment, Norway. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA19672

This diagram depicts the sensor head of the Planetary Instrument for X-RAY Lithochemistry, or PIXL, which has been selected as one of seven investigations for the payload of NASA Mars 2020 rover mission.

Planning for NASA 2020 Mars rover envisions a basic structure that capitalizes on existing design and engineering, but with new science instruments selected through competition for accomplishing different science objectives.

This illustration depicts the mechanism and conceptual research targets for an instrument named SHERLOC, which has been selected as one of seven investigations for the payload of NASA Mars 2020 rover mission.

The “Send Your Name to Mars” logo is installed on the Mars Perseverance rover on March 16, 2020, inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. When the rover lands on the Red Planet on Feb. 18, 2021, it will be carrying the names of more than 10 million people throughout the world. Those names were etched onto a microchip, which was placed aboard Perseverance. Liftoff aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V 541 rocket is targeted for mid-July from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. NASA’s Launch Services Program based at Kennedy is managing the launch.The “Send Your Name to Mars” logo is installed on the Mars Perseverance rover on March 16, 2020, inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. When the rover lands on the Red Planet on Feb. 18, 2021, it will be carrying the names of more than 10 million people throughout the world. Those names were etched onto a microchip, which was placed aboard Perseverance. Liftoff aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V 541 rocket is targeted for mid-July from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. NASA’s Launch Services Program based at Kennedy is managing the launch.

This artist's concept depicts NASA's Mars 2020 rover exploring Mars. The mission will not only seek out and study an area likely to have been habitable in the distant past, but it will take the next, bold step in robotic exploration of the Red Planet by seeking signs of past microbial life itself. Mars 2020 will use powerful instruments to investigate rocks on Mars down to the microscopic scale of variations in texture and composition. It will also acquire and store samples of the most promising rocks and soils that it encounters, and set them aside on the surface of Mars. A future mission could potentially return these samples to Earth. Mars 2020 is targeted for launch in July/August 2020 aboard an Atlas V-541 rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA22111

The “Send Your Name to Mars” logo is installed on the Mars Perseverance rover on March 16, 2020, inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. When the rover lands on the Red Planet on Feb. 18, 2021, it will be carrying the names of more than 10 million people throughout the world. Those names were etched onto a microchip, which was placed aboard Perseverance. Liftoff aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V 541 rocket is targeted for mid-July from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. NASA’s Launch Services Program based at Kennedy is managing the launch.

The “Send Your Name to Mars” logo is installed on the Mars Perseverance rover on March 16, 2020, inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. When the rover lands on the Red Planet on Feb. 18, 2021, it will be carrying the names of more than 10 million people throughout the world. Those names were etched onto a microchip, which was placed aboard Perseverance. Liftoff aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V 541 rocket is targeted for mid-July from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. NASA’s Launch Services Program based at Kennedy is managing the launch.

The “Send Your Name to Mars” logo is installed on the Mars Perseverance rover on March 16, 2020, inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. When the rover lands on the Red Planet on Feb. 18, 2021, it will be carrying the names of more than 10 million people throughout the world. Those names were etched onto a microchip, which was placed aboard Perseverance. Liftoff aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V 541 rocket is targeted for mid-July from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. NASA’s Launch Services Program based at Kennedy is managing the launch.

The “Send Your Name to Mars” logo is installed on the Mars Perseverance rover on March 16, 2020, inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. When the rover lands on the Red Planet on Feb. 18, 2021, it will be carrying the names of more than 10 million people throughout the world. Those names were etched onto a microchip, which was placed aboard Perseverance. Liftoff aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V 541 rocket is targeted for mid-July from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. NASA’s Launch Services Program based at Kennedy is managing the launch.

Wheels are installed on NASA’s Mars Perseverance rover inside Kennedy Space Center’s Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility on March 30, 2020. Perseverance will liftoff aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V 541 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in July 2020. NASA’s Launch Services Program based at Kennedy is managing the launch. The rover will land on Mars on Feb. 18, 2021.

Wheels are installed on NASA’s Mars Perseverance rover inside Kennedy Space Center’s Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility on March 30, 2020. Perseverance will liftoff aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V 541 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in July 2020. NASA’s Launch Services Program based at Kennedy is managing the launch. The rover will land on Mars on Feb. 18, 2021.

Wheels are installed on NASA’s Mars Perseverance rover inside Kennedy Space Center’s Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility on March 30, 2020. Perseverance will liftoff aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V 541 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in July 2020. NASA’s Launch Services Program based at Kennedy is managing the launch. The rover will land on Mars on Feb. 18, 2021.

In this picture from Sept. 28, 2019, engineers and technicians working on the Mars 2020 spacecraft at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, look on as a crane lifts the rocket-powered descent stage away from the rover after a test. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA23466

During their only opportunity to see NASA's next Mars rover from inside JPL's clean room prior to its shipment to Cape Canaveral, members of the media interview the builders of the Mars 2020 mission. The image was taken inside the clean room on Dec. 27, 2019. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA23586

Illustrations of NASA's Curiosity and Mars 2020 rovers. While the newest rover borrows from Curiosity's design, each has its own role in the ongoing exploration of Mars and the search for ancient life. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA23517

In this illustration, NASA's Mars 2020 rover uses its drill to core a rock sample on Mars. Scheduled to launch in July 2020, the Mars 2020 rover represents the first leg of humanity's first round trip to another planet. The rover will collect and store rock and soil samples on the planet's surface that future missions will retrieve and return to Earth. NASA and the European Space Agency are solidifying concepts for a Mars sample return mission. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA23491

Members of NASA's Mars 2020 project take a moment after attaching the remote sensing mast to the Mars 2020 rover. The image was taken on June 5, 2019, in the Spacecraft Assembly Facility's High Bay 1 clean room at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA23267

NASA's Mars 2020 rover looks virtually the same as Curiosity, but there are a number of differences. One giveaway to which rover you're looking at is 2020's aft cross-beam, which looks a bit like a shopping cart handle. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA23516

The Mars 2020 rover is offloaded from a C-17 aircraft at the Launch and Landing Facility, formerly known as the Shuttle Landing Facility, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on Feb. 12, 2020. The rover made a cross-country trip to the Florida spaceport that started at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. The mission, targeted for mid-July 2020, will launch aboard an Atlas V 541 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. NASA’s Launch Services Program based at Kennedy is managing the launch.

The Mars 2020 rover arrives at the Launch and Landing Facility, formerly known as the Shuttle Landing Facility, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on Feb. 12, 2020. The rover was delivered to the Florida spaceport on a C-17 aircraft, making a cross-country trip that started at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. The mission, targeted for mid-July 2020, will launch aboard an Atlas V 541 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. NASA’s Launch Services Program based at Kennedy is managing the launch.

The Mars 2020 rover arrives at the Launch and Landing Facility, formerly known as the Shuttle Landing Facility, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on Feb. 12, 2020. The rover was delivered to the Florida spaceport on a C-17 aircraft, making a cross-country trip that started at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. The mission, targeted for mid-July 2020, will launch aboard an Atlas V 541 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. NASA’s Launch Services Program based at Kennedy is managing the launch.

The Mars 2020 rover is offloaded from a C-17 aircraft at the Launch and Landing Facility, formerly known as the Shuttle Landing Facility, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on Feb. 12, 2020. The rover made a cross-country trip to the Florida spaceport that started at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. The mission, targeted for mid-July 2020, will launch aboard an Atlas V 541 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. NASA’s Launch Services Program based at Kennedy is managing the launch.

The Mars 2020 rover is offloaded from a C-17 aircraft at the Launch and Landing Facility, formerly known as the Shuttle Landing Facility, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on Feb. 12, 2020. The rover made a cross-country trip to the Florida spaceport that started at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. The mission, targeted for mid-July 2020, will launch aboard an Atlas V 541 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. NASA’s Launch Services Program based at Kennedy is managing the launch.

The Mars 2020 rover is offloaded from a C-17 aircraft at the Launch and Landing Facility, formerly known as the Shuttle Landing Facility, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on Feb. 12, 2020. The rover made a cross-country trip to the Florida spaceport that started at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. The mission, targeted for mid-July 2020, will launch aboard an Atlas V 541 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. NASA’s Launch Services Program based at Kennedy is managing the launch.

The Mars 2020 rover arrives at the Launch and Landing Facility, formerly known as the Shuttle Landing Facility, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on Feb. 12, 2020. The rover was delivered to the Florida spaceport on a C-17 aircraft, making a cross-country trip that started at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. The mission, targeted for mid-July 2020, will launch aboard an Atlas V 541 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. NASA’s Launch Services Program based at Kennedy is managing the launch.

The C-17 aircraft that delivered the Mars 2020 rover sits at the Launch and Landing Facility, formerly known as the Shuttle Landing Facility, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on Feb. 12, 2020. The rover made a cross-country trip to the Florida spaceport that started at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. The mission, targeted for mid-July 2020, will launch aboard an Atlas V 541 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. NASA’s Launch Services Program based at Kennedy is managing the launch.

The Mars 2020 rover is pictured outside of the C-17 aircraft that delivered it to the Launch and Landing Facility, formerly known as the Shuttle Landing Facility, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Feb. 12, 2020. The rover made a cross-country trip that started at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. The mission, targeted for mid-July 2020, will launch aboard an Atlas V 541 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. NASA’s Launch Services Program based at Kennedy is managing the launch.

The Mars 2020 rover is offloaded from a C-17 aircraft at the Launch and Landing Facility, formerly known as the Shuttle Landing Facility, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on Feb. 12, 2020. The rover made a cross-country trip to the Florida spaceport that started at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. The mission, targeted for mid-July 2020, will launch aboard an Atlas V 541 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. NASA’s Launch Services Program based at Kennedy is managing the launch.

The Mars 2020 rover is offloaded from a C-17 aircraft at the Launch and Landing Facility, formerly known as the Shuttle Landing Facility, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on Feb. 12, 2020. The rover made a cross-country trip to the Florida spaceport that started at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. The mission, targeted for mid-July 2020, will launch aboard an Atlas V 541 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. NASA’s Launch Services Program based at Kennedy is managing the launch.

A technician works on the descent stage for NASA's Mars 2020 mission inside JPL's Spacecraft Assembly Facility. Mars 2020 is slated to carry NASA's next Mars rover to the Red Planet in July of 2020. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA22342

ROV-E, a new Mars outreach rover, rolls toward Alex Mather, the student whose submission, Perseverance, was chosen as the official name of the Mars 2020 rover, with NASA handouts at an event to announce the official name of the rover, Thursday, March 5, 2020, at Lake Braddock Secondary School in Burke, Va. The final selection of the new name, Perseverance, was made by Associate Administrator of NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Thomas Zurbuchen, following a nationwide naming contest conducted in 2019 that drew more than 28,000 essays by K-12 students from every U.S. state and territory. The rover is currently at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida being prepared for launch this summer. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

The Mars 2020 rover undergoes processing inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Feb. 13, 2020. The spacecraft was flown to Kennedy from California aboard a C-17 aircraft on Feb. 12. Targeted for mid-July 2020, the mission is scheduled to launch aboard an Atlas V 541 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The launch is managed by the Launch Services Program. The Mars 2020 rover will search for signs of past microbial life, characterize the planet’s climate and geology, collect samples for future return to Earth and pave the way for human exploration of Mars.

The Mars 2020 rover undergoes processing inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Feb. 13, 2020. The spacecraft was flown to Kennedy from California aboard a C-17 aircraft on Feb. 12. Targeted for mid-July 2020, the mission is scheduled to launch aboard an Atlas V 541 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The launch is managed by the Launch Services Program. The Mars 2020 rover will search for signs of past microbial life, characterize the planet’s climate and geology, collect samples for future return to Earth and pave the way for human exploration of Mars.

The Mars 2020 rover undergoes processing inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Feb. 13, 2020. The spacecraft was flown to Kennedy from California aboard a C-17 aircraft on Feb. 12. Targeted for mid-July 2020, the mission is scheduled to launch aboard an Atlas V 541 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The launch is managed by the Launch Services Program. The Mars 2020 rover will search for signs of past microbial life, characterize the planet’s climate and geology, collect samples for future return to Earth and pave the way for human exploration of Mars.

The Mars 2020 rover undergoes processing inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Feb. 13, 2020. The spacecraft was flown to Kennedy from California aboard a C-17 aircraft on Feb. 12. Targeted for mid-July 2020, the mission is scheduled to launch aboard an Atlas V 541 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The launch is managed by the Launch Services Program. The Mars 2020 rover will search for signs of past microbial life, characterize the planet’s climate and geology, collect samples for future return to Earth and pave the way for human exploration of Mars.

The Mars 2020 rover undergoes processing inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Feb. 13, 2020. The spacecraft was flown to Kennedy from California aboard a C-17 aircraft on Feb. 12. Targeted for mid-July 2020, the mission is scheduled to launch aboard an Atlas V 541 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The launch is managed by the Launch Services Program. The Mars 2020 rover will search for signs of past microbial life, characterize the planet’s climate and geology, collect samples for future return to Earth and pave the way for human exploration of Mars.

The Mars 2020 is pictured at the Launch and Landing Facility, formerly known as the Shuttle Landing Facility, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on Feb. 12, 2020. The rover was delivered to the Florida spaceport on a C-17 aircraft, making a cross-country trip that started at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. The mission, targeted for mid-July 2020, will launch aboard an Atlas V 541 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. NASA’s Launch Services Program based at Kennedy is managing the launch.

NASA's Mars 2020 rover, now called Perseverance, undergoes processing at a payload servicing facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center on Feb. 14, 2020. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA23768

Founder and CEO of Future Engineers, Deanne Bell, speaks to the audience at an event to announce the official name of the Mars 2020 rover, Thursday, March 5, 2020, at Lake Braddock Secondary School in Burke, Va. The final selection of the new name, Perseverance, was made by NASA’s Associate Administrator of the Science Mission Directorate, Thomas Zurbuchen, following a nationwide naming contest conducted in 2019 that drew more than 28,000 essays by K-12 students from every U.S. state and territory. The rover is currently at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida being prepared for launch this summer. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

Founder and CEO of Future Engineers, Deanne Bell, speaks to the audience at an event to announce the official name of the Mars 2020 rover, Thursday, March 5, 2020, at Lake Braddock Secondary School in Burke, Va. The final selection of the new name, Perseverance, was made by NASA’s Associate Administrator of the Science Mission Directorate, Thomas Zurbuchen, following a nationwide naming contest conducted in 2019 that drew more than 28,000 essays by K-12 students from every U.S. state and territory. The rover is currently at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida being prepared for launch this summer. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

Students applaud during an event to announce the official name of the Mars 2020 rover, Thursday, March 5, 2020, at Lake Braddock Secondary School in Burke, Va. The final selection of the new name, Perseverance, was made by Associate Administrator of NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Thomas Zurbuchen, following a nationwide naming contest conducted in 2019 that drew more than 28,000 essays by K-12 students from every U.S. state and territory. The rover is currently at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida being prepared for launch this summer. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

Fairfax County Division Superintendent Scott Brabrand speaks about the importance of STEM at an event to announce the official name of the Mars 2020 rover, Thursday, March 5, 2020, at Lake Braddock Secondary School in Burke, Va. The final selection of the new name was made by Associate Administrator of NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Thomas Zurbuchen, following a nationwide naming contest conducted in 2019 that drew more than 28,000 essays by K-12 students from every U.S. state and territory. The rover is currently at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida being prepared for launch this summer. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

Founder and CEO of Future Engineers, Deanne Bell, speaks at an event to announce the official name of the Mars 2020 rover, Thursday, March 5, 2020, at Lake Braddock Secondary School in Burke, Va. The final selection of the new name, Perseverance, was made by NASA’s Associate Administrator of the Science Mission Directorate, Thomas Zurbuchen, following a nationwide naming contest conducted in 2019 that drew more than 28,000 essays by K-12 students from every U.S. state and territory. The rover is currently at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida being prepared for launch this summer. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

Founder and CEO of Future Engineers, Deanne Bell, speaks to the audience at an event to announce the official name of the Mars 2020 rover, Thursday, March 5, 2020, at Lake Braddock Secondary School in Burke, Va. The final selection of the new name, Perseverance, was made by NASA’s Associate Administrator of the Science Mission Directorate, Thomas Zurbuchen, following a nationwide naming contest conducted in 2019 that drew more than 28,000 essays by K-12 students from every U.S. state and territory. The rover is currently at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida being prepared for launch this summer. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

NASA's Mars 2020 rover will store rock and soil samples in sealed tubes on the planet's surface for future missions to retrieve, as seen in this illustration. The Mars 2020 rover, scheduled to launch in July 2020, represents the first leg of humanity's first planned round trip to another planet. NASA and the European Space Agency are solidifying concepts for a Mars sample return mission. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA23492

The Mars 2020 rover undergoes processing inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Feb. 14, 2020. Initial processing took place on Feb. 13, one day after a C-17 aircraft, with the rover aboard, touched down at the Launch and Landing Facility at Kennedy. The cross-country trip began at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where the rover was manufactured. The mission, targeted for mid-July 2020, will launch aboard an Atlas V 541 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. NASA’s Launch Services Program based at Kennedy is managing the launch. Click here for more information on the Mars 2020 rover mission.

The Mars 2020 rover undergoes processing inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Feb. 14, 2020. Initial processing took place on Feb. 13, one day after a C-17 aircraft, with the rover aboard, touched down at the Launch and Landing Facility at Kennedy. The cross-country trip began at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where the rover was manufactured. The mission, targeted for mid-July 2020, will launch aboard an Atlas V 541 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. NASA’s Launch Services Program based at Kennedy is managing the launch. Click here for more information on the Mars 2020 rover mission.

The Mars 2020 rover undergoes processing inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Feb. 14, 2020. Initial processing took place on Feb. 13, one day after a C-17 aircraft, with the rover aboard, touched down at the Launch and Landing Facility at Kennedy. The cross-country trip began at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where the rover was manufactured. The mission, targeted for mid-July 2020, will launch aboard an Atlas V 541 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. NASA’s Launch Services Program based at Kennedy is managing the launch. Click here for more information on the Mars 2020 rover mission.

The Mars 2020 rover undergoes processing inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Feb. 14, 2020. Initial processing took place on Feb. 13, one day after a C-17 aircraft, with the rover aboard, touched down at the Launch and Landing Facility at Kennedy. The cross-country trip began at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where the rover was manufactured. The mission, targeted for mid-July 2020, will launch aboard an Atlas V 541 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. NASA’s Launch Services Program based at Kennedy is managing the launch. Click here for more information on the Mars 2020 rover mission.

The Mars 2020 rover undergoes processing inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Feb. 14, 2020. Initial processing took place on Feb. 13, one day after a C-17 aircraft, with the rover aboard, touched down at the Launch and Landing Facility at Kennedy. The cross-country trip began at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where the rover was manufactured. The mission, targeted for mid-July 2020, will launch aboard an Atlas V 541 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. NASA’s Launch Services Program based at Kennedy is managing the launch. Click here for more information on the Mars 2020 rover mission.

The Mars 2020 rover undergoes processing inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Feb. 14, 2020. Initial processing took place on Feb. 13, one day after a C-17 aircraft, with the rover aboard, touched down at the Launch and Landing Facility at Kennedy. The cross-country trip began at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where the rover was manufactured. The mission, targeted for mid-July 2020, will launch aboard an Atlas V 541 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. NASA’s Launch Services Program based at Kennedy is managing the launch. Click here for more information on the Mars 2020 rover mission.

The Mars 2020 rover undergoes processing inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Feb. 14, 2020. Initial processing took place on Feb. 13, one day after a C-17 aircraft, with the rover aboard, touched down at the Launch and Landing Facility at Kennedy. The cross-country trip began at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where the rover was manufactured. The mission, targeted for mid-July 2020, will launch aboard an Atlas V 541 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. NASA’s Launch Services Program based at Kennedy is managing the launch. Click here for more information on the Mars 2020 rover mission.

The Mars 2020 rover undergoes processing inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Feb. 14, 2020. Initial processing took place on Feb. 13, one day after a C-17 aircraft, with the rover aboard, touched down at the Launch and Landing Facility at Kennedy. The cross-country trip began at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where the rover was manufactured. The mission, targeted for mid-July 2020, will launch aboard an Atlas V 541 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. NASA’s Launch Services Program based at Kennedy is managing the launch. Click here for more information on the Mars 2020 rover mission.

The Mars 2020 rover undergoes processing inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Feb. 14, 2020. Initial processing took place on Feb. 13, one day after a C-17 aircraft, with the rover aboard, touched down at the Launch and Landing Facility at Kennedy. The cross-country trip began at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where the rover was manufactured. The mission, targeted for mid-July 2020, will launch aboard an Atlas V 541 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. NASA’s Launch Services Program based at Kennedy is managing the launch. Click here for more information on the Mars 2020 rover mission.

ROV-E, a new Mars outreach rover, delivers NASA handouts to Alex Mather, the student whose submission, Perseverance, was chosen as the official name of the Mars 2020 rover, at an event to announce the official name of the rover, Thursday, March 5, 2020, at Lake Braddock Secondary School in Burke, Va. The final selection of the new name, Perseverance, was made by Associate Administrator of NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Thomas Zurbuchen, following a nationwide naming contest conducted in 2019 that drew more than 28,000 essays by K-12 students from every U.S. state and territory. The rover is currently at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida being prepared for launch this summer. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

Amazon Senior Sales Manager, Jamie Baker, left, awards a large boarding pass to Alex Mather, the student whose submission, Perseverance, was chosen as the official name of the Mars 2020 rover, to get him and his family to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center to watch the launch of the rover, Thursday, March 5, 2020, at Lake Braddock Secondary School in Burke, Va. The final selection of the new name was made by Associate Administrator of NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Thomas Zurbuchen, following a nationwide naming contest conducted in 2019 that drew more than 28,000 essays by K-12 students from every U.S. state and territory. The rover is currently at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida being prepared for launch this summer. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

This map of the Red Planet shows Jezero Crater, where NASA's Mars 2020 rover is scheduled to land in February 2021. Also included are the locations where all of NASA's other successful Mars missions touched down. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA23518

An engineering model of NASA's Mars 2020 rover makes tracks during a driving test in the Mars Yard, an area that simulates Mars-like conditions at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. This image was taken on Dec. 3, 2019, as engineers were trying out the software that will command the rover to move. Mars 2020 will launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida as early as July 2020. It will land at Jezero Crater on Feb. 18, 2021. JPL is building and will manage operations of the Mars 2020 rover for NASA. NASA's Launch Services Program, based at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, is responsible for launch management. Mars 2020 is part of a larger program that includes missions to the Moon as a way to prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet. Charged with returning astronauts to the Moon by 2024, NASA will establish a sustained human presence on and around the Moon by 2028 through NASA's Artemis lunar exploration plans. For more information about the mission, go to https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA23498

On June 21, 2019, engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory install the main robotic arm on the Mars 2020 rover. Measuring 7 feet (2.1 meters) long, the arm will allow the rover to work as a human geologist would: by holding and using science tools with its turret. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA23227

In this image, taken on June 13, 2019, engineers at JPL install the starboard legs and wheels — otherwise known as the mobility suspension — on the Mars 2020 rover. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA23269

In this image, taken on June 13, 2019, engineers prepare the starboard legs and wheels — otherwise known as the mobility suspension — for integration onto NASA's Mars 2020 rover. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA23270

Students chant, “Go Perseverance!” during an event to announce the official name of the Mars 2020 rover, Thursday, March 5, 2020, at Lake Braddock Secondary School in Burke, Va. The final selection of the new name, Perseverance, was made by Associate Administrator of NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Thomas Zurbuchen, following a nationwide naming contest conducted in 2019 that drew more than 28,000 essays by K-12 students from every U.S. state and territory. The rover is currently at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida being prepared for launch this summer. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

Alex Mather watches a congratulatory video from Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va, during an event to announce the official name of the Mars 2020 rover, Thursday, March 5, 2020, at Lake Braddock Secondary School in Burke, Va. The final selection of the new name, Perseverance, was made by Associate Administrator of NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Thomas Zurbuchen, following a nationwide naming contest conducted in 2019 that drew more than 28,000 essays by K-12 students from every U.S. state and territory. The rover is currently at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida being prepared for launch this summer. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

Associate Administrator of NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Thomas Zurbuchen, announces the official name, Perseverance, for the rover formerly known as Mars 2020, Thursday, March 5, 2020, at Lake Braddock Secondary School in Burke, Va. Zurbuchen made the final selection of the new name following a nationwide naming contest conducted in 2019 that drew more than 28,000 essays by K-12 students from every U.S. state and territory. Perseverance is currently at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida being prepared for launch this summer. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

Alex Mather, the student whose submission, Perseverance, was chosen as the official name of the Mars 2020 rover, reads his essay entry, Thursday, March 5, 2020, at Lake Braddock Secondary School in Burke, Va. The final selection of the new name was made by Associate Administrator of NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Thomas Zurbuchen, following a nationwide naming contest conducted in 2019 that drew more than 28,000 essays by K-12 students from every U.S. state and territory. Perseverance is currently at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida being prepared for launch this summer. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

Alex Mather, the student whose submission, Perseverance, was chosen as the official name of the Mars 2020 rover, is seen in the audience seated with his family, Thursday, March 5, 2020, at Lake Braddock Secondary School in Burke, Va. The final selection of the new name was made by Associate Administrator of NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Thomas Zurbuchen, following a nationwide naming contest conducted in 2019 that drew more than 28,000 essays by K-12 students from every U.S. state and territory. Perseverance is currently at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida being prepared for launch this summer. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

Associate Administrator of NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Thomas Zurbuchen, speaks after announcing the official name, Perseverance, for the rover formerly known as Mars 2020, Thursday, March 5, 2020, at Lake Braddock Secondary School in Burke, Va. Zurbuchen made the final selection of the new name following a nationwide naming contest conducted in 2019 that drew more than 28,000 essays by K-12 students from every U.S. state and territory. Perseverance is currently at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida being prepared for launch this summer. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

Alex Mather, the student whose submission, Perseverance, was chosen as the official name of the Mars 2020 rover, reads his essay entry, Thursday, March 5, 2020, at Lake Braddock Secondary School in Burke, Va. The final selection of the new name was made by Associate Administrator of NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Thomas Zurbuchen, following a nationwide naming contest conducted in 2019 that drew more than 28,000 essays by K-12 students from every U.S. state and territory. Perseverance is currently at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida being prepared for launch this summer. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

Associate Administrator of NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Thomas Zurbuchen, announces the official name, Perseverance, for the rover formerly known as Mars 2020, Thursday, March 5, 2020, at Lake Braddock Secondary School in Burke, Va. Zurbuchen made the final selection of the new name following a nationwide naming contest conducted in 2019 that drew more than 28,000 essays by K-12 students from every U.S. state and territory. Perseverance is currently at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida being prepared for launch this summer. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

Director of NASA's Science Mission Directorate’s Planetary Science Division, Lori Glaze, left, speaks after the announcement of the official name, Perseverance, for the rover formerly known as Mars 2020, Thursday, March 5, 2020, at Lake Braddock Secondary School in Burke, Va. The final selection of the new name was made by Associate Administrator of NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Thomas Zurbuchen, following a nationwide naming contest conducted in 2019 that drew more than 28,000 essays by K-12 students from every U.S. state and territory. Perseverance is currently at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida being prepared for launch this summer. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

Associate Administrator of NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Thomas Zurbuchen, announces the official name, Perseverance, for the rover formerly known as Mars 2020, Thursday, March 5, 2020, at Lake Braddock Secondary School in Burke, Va. Zurbuchen made the final selection of the new name following a nationwide naming contest conducted in 2019 that drew more than 28,000 essays by K-12 students from every U.S. state and territory. Perseverance is currently at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida being prepared for launch this summer. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

Associate Administrator of NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Thomas Zurbuchen, announces the official name, Perseverance, for the rover formerly known as Mars 2020, Thursday, March 5, 2020, at Lake Braddock Secondary School in Burke, Va. Zurbuchen made the final selection of the new name following a nationwide naming contest conducted in 2019 that drew more than 28,000 essays by K-12 students from every U.S. state and territory. Perseverance is currently at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida being prepared for launch this summer. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

Engineers and technicians at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, integrate the rover motor controller assembly (RMCA) into the Mars 2020 rover's body. The RMCA is the electrical heart of the rover's mobility and motion systems, commanding and regulating the movement of the motors in the rover's wheels, robotic arms, mast, drill and sample-handling functions. The image was taken on April 29, 2019, in the Spacecraft Assembly Facility's High Bay 1 clean room at JPL. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA23194

Rohit Bhartia of NASA's Mars 2020 mission holds a slice of a meteorite scientists have determined came from Mars. This slice will likely be used here on Earth for testing a laser instrument for NASA's Mars 2020 rover; a separate slice will go to Mars on the rover. Martian meteorites are believed to be the result of impacts to the Red Planet's surface, resulting in rock being blasted into the atmosphere. After traveling through space for eons, some of these rocks entered Earth's atmosphere. Scientists determine whether they are true Martian meteorites based on their rock and noble gas chemistry and mineralogy. The gases trapped in these meteorites bear the unique fingerprint of the Martian atmosphere, as recorded by NASA's Viking mission in 1976. The rock types also show clear signs of igneous processing not possible on smaller bodies, such as asteroids. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA22245

A placard commemorating NASA's "Send Your Name to Mars" campaign was installed on the Perseverance Mars rover on March 16, 2020, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Three fingernail-sized chips affixed to the upper-left corner of the placard feature the names of 10,932,295 people who participated. They were individually stenciled onto the chips by electron beam, along with the essays of the 155 finalists in NASA's "Name the Rover" contest. Liftoff aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V 541 rocket is targeted for mid-July of 2020 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. NASA's Launch Services Program, based at Kennedy, is managing the launch. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA23769

The shipping container carrying NASA's Mars 2020 rover is readied for loading aboard an Air Force C-17 transport plane at March Air Reserve Base in Riverside, California, on Feb. 11, 2020. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA23592

This artist's concept depicts astronauts and human habitats on Mars. NASA's Mars 2020 rover will carry a number of technologies that could make Mars safer and easier to explore for humans. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA23302

A full-scale mockup of NASA’s Mars 2020 Perseverance rover is at the News Center at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on July 28, 2020. The rover is scheduled to launch July 30, on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V 541 rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at nearby Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The rover is part of NASA’s Mars Exploration Program, a long-term effort of robotic exploration of the Red Planet. The rover will search for habitable conditions in the ancient past and signs of past microbial life on Mars. The Launch Services Program at Kennedy is responsible for launch management.

A full-scale mockup of NASA’s Mars 2020 Perseverance rover is at the News Center at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on July 28, 2020. The rover is scheduled to launch July 30, on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V 541 rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at nearby Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The rover is part of NASA’s Mars Exploration Program, a long-term effort of robotic exploration of the Red Planet. The rover will search for habitable conditions in the ancient past and signs of past microbial life on Mars. The Launch Services Program at Kennedy is responsible for launch management.

This image shows one of the enhanced engineering cameras with a prototype lens for the Hazcams, which will watch for obstacles encountered by NASA's Mars 2020 rover. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA22102

Engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory lift the Mars 2020 rover's bit carousel out of its storage container. The bit carousel is a mechanism that is at the heart of the rover's Sample Caching System. The image was taken on Aug. 5, 2019, in the Spacecraft Assembly Facility's High Bay 1 at JPL. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA23320

Engineers and technicians at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, install the remote sensing mast on the Mars 2020 rover. The image was taken on June 5, 2019, in the Spacecraft Assembly Facility's High Bay 1 clean room at JPL. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA23268