NASA rover surmounts Jezero crater rim to begin next science campaign

NASA rover surmounts Jezero crater rim to begin next science campaign
by Clarence Oxford
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Dec 13, 2024

NASA's Perseverance rover has successfully climbed to the top of Jezero Crater's rim, reaching a landmark location called "Lookout Hill." This achievement follows months of challenging terrain navigation and marks the beginning of an exploration phase into an entirely new region on Mars.

The ascent, which spanned 3 0.5 months and climbed 1,640 vertical feet (500 meters), included traversing grades of up to 20%. Along the way, Perseverance conducted scientific observations at multiple stops. The rover's progress and upcoming plans were shared during a Dec. 12 briefing at the American Geophysical Union's annual meeting in Washington.

"During the Jezero Crater rim climb, our rover drivers have done an amazing job negotiating some of the toughest terrain we've encountered since landing," said Steven Lee, deputy project manager for Perseverance at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. "They developed innovative approaches to overcome these challenges - even tried driving backward to see if it would help - and the rover has come through it all like a champ. Perseverance is 'go' for everything the science team wants to throw at it during this next science campaign."

Transition to New Geology

Since landing in February 2021, Perseverance has completed four major science campaigns: "Crater Floor," "Fan Front," "Upper Fan," and "Margin Unit." The newly launched "Northern Rim" campaign focuses on the northern part of Jezero's southwestern rim. Over the next year, the mission will explore four key sites, collect samples, and traverse approximately 4 miles (6.4 kilometers).

"This campaign brings us completely new scientific riches as Perseverance roves into fundamentally new geology," said Ken Farley, project scientist for Perseverance at Caltech. "It marks our transition from rocks that partially filled Jezero Crater when it was formed by a massive impact about 3.9 billion years ago to rocks from deep down inside Mars that were thrown upward to form the crater rim after impact."

Farley emphasized that these ancient rocks are among the oldest found in the solar system, holding potential insights into the early histories of Mars and Earth.

First Destination: Witch Hazel Hill

Perseverance's first stop is "Witch Hazel Hill," a rocky outcrop 1,500 feet (450 meters) down the rim's far side. This site features over 330 feet of layered rocks that serve as a record of Mars' ancient environments.

"The campaign starts off with a bang because Witch Hazel Hill represents over 330 feet of layered outcrop, where each layer is like a page in the book of Martian history," said Candice Bedford, a Perseverance scientist from Purdue University. "As we drive down the hill, we will be going back in time, investigating the ancient environments of Mars recorded in the crater rim. Then, after a steep descent, we take our first turns of the wheel away from the crater rim toward 'Lac de Charmes,' about 2 miles south."

The plains region known as Lac de Charmes is of particular interest due to its geological isolation from the Jezero Crater formation process.

Studying Ancient Martian History

Following Lac de Charmes, Perseverance will return to the rim to examine an outcrop known as megabreccia. This area contains massive rock blocks potentially linked to the Isidis impact, a major event that occurred 3.9 billion years ago and created a vast Martian basin.