Perseverance

Perseverance is NASA's most advanced Mars rover, which landed in Jezero Crater on February 18, 2021. The rover's primary mission is to seek signs of ancient microbial life in the delta and lakebed deposits of the crater, which scientists believe once held a deep lake fed by a river. Perseverance carries seven scientific instruments, 23 cameras, and two microphones -- the first to record sound on Mars. A key innovation is its sample-caching system: the rover drills rock cores and seals them in titanium tubes for a future Mars Sample Return mission. Perseverance also deployed Ingenuity, the first helicopter to achieve powered flight on another planet. The MOXIE experiment aboard the rover successfully demonstrated converting Martian carbon dioxide into oxygen, a critical technology for future human missions.