NASA's $2.7 billion Perseverance rover has made a precise landing on the floor of Mars's Jezero crater, which scientists believe was filled with water 3.8 billion years ago. Two kilometers away sits the rover's primary target: a fossilized river delta, created as muddy water spilled into the crater—ideal for preserving signs of life. But before Perseverance starts the long climb up into the delta, to drill samples that will eventually be returned to Earth, it will examine the rocks beneath its six wheels. The rover landed near outcrops of rock layers that may have originally been laid down before and after the lake and the delta. The NASA team will probe these rocks for their origin; if volcanic, the radiometric dates derived from them could provide clues to the nature and timing of the brief period when water flowed—and life might have flourished. First, the rover will continue its monthlong commissioning phase and then deploy its attached experimental helicopter, Ingenuity, for the first rotor-powered flight on another planet.

NASA耗资27亿美元的“恒心号”火星车已精确降落在火星Jezero陨石坑的地面上，科学家认为该陨石坑在38亿年前就充满了水。流浪者的主要目标是两公里外：化石河三角洲，是由浑浊的水溅入火山口而形成的，是保存生命迹象的理想之地。但是在毅力开始长进三角洲之前，要钻探最终返回地球的样品，它将检查六个轮子下方的岩石。流浪者降落在原本可能是在湖泊和三角洲之前和之后铺设的岩石层的露头附近。NASA小组将对这些岩石进行取样以了解其来源；如果是火山，从中得出的放射性数据可以为水流短暂时期的性质和时间提供线索-生命可能会蓬勃发展。首先，火星车将继续进行为期一个月的调试阶段，然后将其附属的实验直升机Ingenuity部署到另一个星球上，进行首次旋翼动力飞行。