NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover has achieved a major milestone, successfully climbing to the top of Jezero Crater’s rim at a location called Lookout Hill. The months-long ascent sets the stage for an exciting new phase of exploration in a region unlike any previously studied.
The journey to Lookout Hill: Perseverance’s ascent
The climb to Jezero Crater’s rim took approximately 3.5 months, during which the rover tackled challenging terrain, ascending 1,640 vertical feet (500 meters) and navigating slopes as steep as 20%. Along the way, the science team conducted detailed observations to study the Martian landscape.
“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. “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.”
The Northern Rim Campaign
With its latest campaign, Perseverance transitions from studying rocks that partially filled Jezero Crater to ancient rocks from deep within Mars’ crust, exposed by the massive impact that formed the crater 3.9 billion years ago. Dubbed the Northern Rim campaign, this phase is expected to last about a year and cover approximately 4 miles (6.4 kilometers), including stops at four geologically significant sites.
“This campaign marks our transition to fundamentally new geology,” said Ken Farley, project scientist for Perseverance. “These rocks represent pieces of early Martian crust and are among the oldest found anywhere in the solar system. Investigating them could help us understand what Mars — and Earth — may have looked like in their infancy.”
First stop at Witch Hazel Hill
The rover’s first target in the Northern Rim campaign is Witch Hazel Hill, a rocky outcrop located about 1,500 feet (450 meters) down the other side of the crater rim. This area features over 330 feet of layered outcrop, offering a unique opportunity to study Martian history layer by layer.
“The campaign starts off with a bang because Witch Hazel Hill represents a book of Martian history,” said Candice Bedford, a Perseverance scientist at 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.”
After descending Witch Hazel Hill, Perseverance will head toward Lac de Charmes, an area on the plains beyond the crater rim. This site is intriguing because it is less likely to have been significantly altered by the formation of Jezero Crater.
Following this, the rover will return to the rim to study an outcrop of megabreccia, large blocks of ancient bedrock broken apart during the massive Isidis impact. This event, which occurred 3.9 billion years ago, excavated deep into Mars’ crust, providing valuable clues about the planet’s early history.
Perseverance’s scientific legacy
Since landing on Mars in February 2021, Perseverance has completed four science campaigns, including studies of the Crater Floor, Fan Front, Upper Fan, and Margin Unit. The Northern Rim campaign promises to unlock new scientific insights into the ancient Martian crust and the planet’s geological evolution.
With Lookout Hill behind it, Perseverance is poised to uncover more of Mars’ secrets, advancing our understanding of the Red Planet and its potential to support life in its distant past.
Source: NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech.
