In February 2021, NASA's Perseverance rover landed successfully at the Octavia E. Butler Landing Site in the Jezero Crater, the site of an ancient open-system lake on Mars. Perseverance is seeking signs of ancient life, and is collecting Martian rock and soil samples for possible return to Earth by a future mission. Upon completing a 90-day commissioning phase, Perseverance embarked on an exploration and sampling campaign of the rocks and outcrops comprising the present-day floor of Jezero Crater. This abstract summarizes the mission results from Perseverance's first eight months on Mars, including the lead-up to the collection of the mission's first sample. Virtual talk: 11:25 a.m.-12:15 p.m. via Blue Jeans: http://primetime.bluejeans.com/a2m/live-event/udqsqwfdSocial Event: 4-6 p.m., Molecular Science and Engineering Building, ground floor outdoor patio
Kathryn Stack-Morgan, Jet Propulsion Laboratory research scientist and Mars 2020 Deputy Project Scientist, gives an update on the first eight months of the NASA Perseverance rover's mission on Mars.