NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover on Thursday (Dec 12) climbed atop Jezero Crater's rim at what the scientists have described as the "Lookout Hill" to reveal the mysteries of the Red Planet. Since first landing at the crater in February 2021, this is the first time that the rover has ventured outside to explore a region that is unlike anywhere it has investigated on the Red Planet. The rover took a little over three months and climbed 500 metres to reach the crater's rim where it is expected to analyse rocks that were deep inside the Martain surface.
"Status update: I've reached the rim of Jezero Crater! The ascent took 3.5 months and included 1,640 feet (500 m) of vertical climb. It was steep and slippery - but I'm built to do hard things," read a post by the rover on X (formerly Twitter).
“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.
“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 Jezero Crater was formed 3.9 billion years ago due to a massive impact which meant Perseverance only examined rocks that were left there after the impact. However, outside the crater, the rocks buried under the Martain surface were thrown out, making them much older and suitable for potential life.
Since landing on Mars, Perseverance has completed four science campaigns viz., the "Crater Floor", "Fan Front", "Upper Fan" and "Margin Unit. Perseverance's fifth campaign is called the "Northern Rim" and in its first year, the rover will visit as many as four sites of geologic interest, collect samples and drive around 6.4 kilometres.
"The Northern Rim campaign brings us completely new scientific riches as Perseverance roves into fundamentally new geology," said Ken Farley, project scientist for Perseverance at Caltech in Pasadena.
After leaving Lookout Hill, Perseverance will slide down the other side of the rim called "Witch Hazel Hill". After the steep descent, the rover will turn towards "Lac de Charmes" -- a region located on the plains beyond the rim which is less likely to have been significantly affected by the formation of Jezero Crater.
Watch: NASA's Rover Captures 'Googly Eye' Eclipse On Mars
Sign of life on Mars
In July this year, the rover discovered an intriguing rock sample, nicknamed "Cheyava Falls," which contains organic molecules and structures that could have been formed by microbial life.
''The rock exhibits chemical signatures and structures that could possibly have been formed by life billions of years ago when the area being explored by the rover contained running water,'' NASA said at the time.
