NASA’s Perseverance rover shares update during tricky Mars climb

NASA’s Perseverance rover is in the middle of a months-long journey up the rim of Jezero Crater on Mars, and on Thursday it beamed back a status update.

The vehicle started the climb in August in what’s considered to be the most ambitious and arduous phase of Perseverance’s mission since arriving at the red planet in early 2021.

“My journey to the rim of Jezero Crater has been a challenging one,” the rover said in a post on its social media account overseen by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which is conducting the Mars mission. “As you can see in this image from my rear Hazcam, I’m dealing with some steep and slippery terrain. But thanks to my team and autonomous navigation system, I’m avoiding any big hazards as I slowly make my way up.”

The image, below, shows one of the rover’s six wheels and the tracks left by them as Perseverance performs its climb.

In an earlier post, Perseverance said it has a few spots to explore on its way to the top, adding that the JPL team was most excited about an area over the crest and outside the crater called Witch Hazel Hill, which includes the most ancient martian crust that the rover is likely to encounter on its journey.

To get there, Perseverance is tackling slopes of up to 23 degrees and which rise around 1,000 feet (305 meters).

Perseverance has spent pretty much all of the last three-and-a-half years exploring the floor of Jezero Crater, as well as the site of an ancient river delta. NASA selected this area for the mission as it was once a huge lake that may have contained microbial life. Perseverance has been collecting cores of rock from this location for later analysis that could reveal if life ever existed on the faraway planet.