Perseverance Mars rover mission commentator and guidance, navigation, and controls operations Lead Swati Mohan studies data on monitors in mission control, Thursday, Feb. 18, 2021, at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. A key objective for Perseverance’s mission on Mars is astrobiology, including the search for signs of ancient microbial life. The rover will characterize the planet’s geology and past climate, pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet, and be the first mission to collect and cache Martian rock and regolith. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover mission commentator and guidance, navigation, and controls operations Lead Swati Mohan studies data in mission control, Thursday, Feb. 18, 2021, at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. A key objective for Perseverance’s mission on Mars is astrobiology, including the search for signs of ancient microbial life. The rover will characterize the planet’s geology and past climate, pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet, and be the first mission to collect and cache Martian rock and regolith. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

With the launch period for the Perseverance mission opening July 17, 2020, members of NASA's Perseverance Mars rover project continue the mission's march to the launch pad while working from their home offices during the coronavirus outbreak. Clockwise from upper left: lead mobility systems engineer Rich Rieber (with son Ben); deputy project scientist Katie Stack Morgan; mission system verification and validation supervisor Ruth Fragoso; mission design and navigation manager Fernando Abilleira (below mission logo); staff assistant Monica Hopper; systems engineer Heather Bottom; project chief engineer Adam Steltzner; guidance and control systems engineer Swati Mohan; entry, Descent and Landing Phase Lead Al Chen (with son Max); project manager John McNamee; and Entry, Descent and Landing Systems Engineer Cj Giovingo. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA23881