Space Science Reviews - The Mars 2020 Mission

New Topical Collection published in Space Science Reviews

Dordrecht, 15 July 2021

NASA’s Mars 2020 mission successfully landed the Perseverance rover in Jezero crater on February 18, 2021. This article collection (this opens in a new tab) provides the definitive pre-landing documentation about the Mars 2020 mission, its scientific payload elements, and its exploration area.

Please, enjoy free access to the introductory article: 
Farley, K.A., Williford, K.H., Stack, K.M. et al. Mars 2020 Mission Overview (this opens in a new tab). Space Sci Rev 216, 142 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-020-00762-y

The articles in this collection include detailed descriptions of:

• Perseverance, its mission, and its relationship to a possible Mars Sample Return campaign;
• The geology of the mission’s exploration environment in Jezero crater; and
• The purpose, design and operation of all seven instruments aboard the rover (Mastcam-Z, SHERLOC, RIMFAX,  Supercam, MOXIE, PIXL, and MEDA) as well as the engineering cameras and the Mars helicopter Ingenuity.

This ambitious mission extends a long arc of Martian exploration by seeking evidence that life may once have existed on Mars, and by preparing a collection of samples for possible return to Earth by a future mission. Mars 2020 will also enable future exploration by characterizing modern weather conditions and by demonstrating new technologies.