NASA personnel are filled with joy as the news arrives that the Perseverance rover has successfully reached the top of Mars' Jezero Crater rim. This challenging climb, which took three and a half months, has been completed, marking a significant milestone in the rover's mission. The six-wheeled rover ascended an impressive 1,640 feet (500 meters), making stops along the way to conduct a wide range of science observations. It continues its search for signs of ancient microbial life on the red planet, demonstrating the rover's remarkable capabilities.

Deputy Project Manager's Perspective

Steven Lee, the deputy project manager for Perseverance at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California, expressed his admiration for the rover drivers. He stated, "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. 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." This shows the dedication and ingenuity of the team behind the rover.

Next Science Campaign - Northern Rim

Exploring beyond the crater offers new opportunities for the rover team. The next science campaign, called Northern Rim, will cover the northern part of the southwestern section of Jezero's rim. During the next year, the rover will visit up to four sites of geologic interest, taking samples along the way and driving about 4 miles (6.4 kilometers). Ken Farley, the project scientist for Perseverance at Caltech in Pasadena, emphasized the significance of this campaign. He said, "The Northern Rim campaign brings us completely new scientific riches as Perseverance roves into fundamentally new geology. 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." These rocks represent "pieces of early martian crust and are among the oldest rocks found anywhere in the solar system," adding that investigating them "could help us understand what Mars - and our own planet - may have looked like in the beginning."

Witch Hazel Hill and Beyond

After Northern Rim, Perseverance will head to Witch Hazel Hill, a scientifically significant rocky outcrop about 1,500 feet (450 meters) down the other side of the rim. Candice Bedford, a Perseverance scientist from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, described Witch Hazel Hill as comprising more than 330 feet of layered outcrop. She said, "Each layer is like a page in the book of martian history. 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." Lac de Charmes is of particular interest as its location makes it less likely to have been significantly affected by the formation of Jezero Crater.

Megabreccia and Beyond

Perseverance will then move on to an outcrop of large blocks known as megabreccia. JPL explained that this may represent ancient bedrock broken up during the Isidis impact, a planet-altering event some 3.9 billion years ago that likely penetrated deep into the martian crust as it created an impact basin about 745 miles (1,200 kilometers) wide. This is another important stage in the rover's journey, as it continues to explore and uncover the mysteries of Mars.Emerging from Jezero Crater is a major milestone for Perseverance, and we can look forward to updates on the next phase of its mission over the coming months. The rover's achievements so far have been remarkable, and it continues to push the boundaries of our understanding of Mars.