Skip Navigation
menu

Images

Mars 2020 Expanded Spacecraft Illustration

3D rendering of major Mars 2020 spacecraft parts in expanded view: cruise stage, backshell, descent stage, rover, heat shield

October 16, 2020

This illustration depicts five major components of the Mars 2020 spacecraft. Top to bottom: cruise stage, backshell, descent stage, Perseverance rover and heat shield. The various components perform critical roles during the vehicle's cruise to Mars and its dramatic Entry, Descent, and Landing.

Credits

NASA/JPL-Caltech

ENLARGE

Related

This illustration shows the events that occur in the final minutes of the nearly seven-month journey that NASA’s Perseverance rover takes to Mars.
More
Timeline of rover descent on Mars
Perseverance Rover's Entry, Descent and Landing Profile
NASA's Perseverance Mars rover has two wind sensors just below its mast, or "head." 
More
Wind sensors on the instrument MEDA
Wind Sensors on MEDA
NASA Science missions circle Earth, the Sun, the Moon, Mars and many other destinations within our solar system, including spacecraft that look out even further into our universe. The Science Fleet...
More
NASA Science missions circle Earth, the Sun, the Moon, Mars and many other destinations within our solar system, including spacecraft that look out even further into our universe. The Science Fleet depicts the scope of NASA's activity and how our missions have traveled throughout the solar system.
SMD Spacecraft Fleet
NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter acquired this image in the northwest portion of a region known as “Séítah” using its high-resolution color camera during its 20th flight on Feb. 25, 2022.
More
NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter acquired this image in the northwest portion of a region known as “Séítah” using its high-resolution color camera during its 20th flight on Feb. 25, 2022.
Ingenuity Flight 20
This recording was made on Feb. 22, 2021, on the fourth sol (Martian day) by the SuperCam instrument on NASA’s Perseverance rover after deployment of the rover’s mast. 
More
This recording was made on Feb. 22, 2021, on the fourth sol (Martian day) by the SuperCam instrument on NASA’s Perseverance rover after deployment of the rover’s mast.
Perseverance Rover's SuperCam Records Wind on Mars
On March 4, 2021, President Biden video called NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory to congratulate the mission team for the successful landing of the Perseverance Mars rover.
More
On March 4, 2021, President Biden video called NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory to congratulate the mission team for the successful landing of the Perseverance Mars rover.
President Biden Calls JPL to Congratulate the Perseverance Mars Rover Team
A technician points a smartphone camera at NASA's Perseverance rover during an inspection at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The imagery from the phone was seen live by mission engineers watching ...
More
A technician points a smartphone camera at NASA's Perseverance rover during an inspection at Kennedy Space Center in Florida
Smartphone Walkdown
NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover took a selfie with the Ingenuity helicopter, seen here about 13 feet (3.9 meters) from the rover. This image was taken by the WATSON camera on the rover’s robotic arm...
More
NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover took a selfie with the Ingenuity helicopter
Perseverance's Selfie with Ingenuity
This computer simulation shows NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover as it carried out its first drive using its auto-navigation feature, which allows it to avoid rocks and other hazards without input fro...
More
This computer simulation shows NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover as it carried out its first drive using its auto-navigation feature, which allows it to avoid rocks and other hazards without input from engineers back on Earth.
Computer Simulation of Perseverance's First Autonav Drive
The location for NASA’s Mars Perseverance rover is shown daily in an interactive map called “Where is Perseverance?”. The tool shows the path taken by the rover (marked in white) and key stops alon...
More
Mars Perseverance rover shown daily in an interactive map called “Where is Perseverance?”. The tool shows the path taken by the rover (marked in white) and key stops along the way.
'Where is Perseverance?' Location Map
NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover used its navigation camera to capture these dust devils swirling across Jezero Crater on July 20, 2021, the 148th Martian day, or sol, of the mission.
More
NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover used its navigation camera to capture these dust devils swirling across Jezero Crater on July 20, 2021, the 148th Martian day, or sol, of the mission.
Perseverance Views Dust Devils Swirling Across Jezero Crater
The engineering model (EM), an almost identical twin of MOXIE, is used for testing in the lab at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
More
The engineering model (EM), an almost identical twin of MOXIE, is used for testing in the lab at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
MOXIE Twin During Testing
One of the enhanced engineering cameras with a prototype lens for the Hazcams, which will watch for obstacles encountered by the Mars 2020 rover.
More
One of the enhanced engineering cameras with a prototype lens for the Hazcams, which will watch for obstacles encountered by the Mars 2020 rover.
Hazcam enhanced engineering cameras with a prototype lens
Photograph showing the prototype RIMFAX antenna attached to a snowmobile during tests in Svalbard, Norway.
More
Photograph showing the prototype RIMFAX antenna attached to a snowmobile during tests in Svalbard, Norway.
RIMFAX Antenna Prototype
Inside a mission support area at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, Mars 2020 Perseverance team members displayed their joy as the spacecraft successfully completed a complex ...
More
Team members inside a mission support area at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California
Cheering for Perseverance Landing
Members of the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover mission pose at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which manages the mission, on July 17, 2019.
More
Members of the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover mission pose at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which manages the mission, on July 17, 2019.
The Team for Jezero Crater
This reel depicts key events during entry, descent, and landing that will occur when NASA’s Perseverance rover lands on Mars February 18, 2021.
More
This reel depicts key events during entry, descent, and landing that will occur when NASA’s Perseverance rover lands on Mars February 18, 2021.
NASA's Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover Landing Animations
The Mars Helicopter team gathers for a group photo at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California on Dec. 3, 2018. 
More
A group photo of the Mars Helicopter team
Mars Helicopter Team
Scientists from NASA's Mars 2020 mission and the European Space Agency-Roscosmos ExoMars mission are in the Australian Outback to hone research techniques before their missions launch to the Red Pl...
More
Scientists from NASA's Mars 2020 mission and the European Space Agency-Roscosmos ExoMars mission are in the Australian Outback to hone research techniques before their missions launch to the Red Planet in summer 2020. They are hoping to better understand how to search for signs of ancient life on Mars. The Pilbara region of North West Australia is home to “stromatolites,” the oldest confirmed fossilized lifeforms on Earth.
NASA and European Scientists Explore Outback as Testbed for Mars
The 21st rock core captured by NASA's Perseverance has a composition that would make it good at trapping and preserving signs of microbial life, if any was once present. The sample – shown being ta...
More
The 21st rock core captured by NASA's Perseverance has a composition that would make it good at trapping and preserving signs of microbial life, if any was once present. The sample – shown being taken here – was cored from "Bunsen Peak" on March 11, the 1,088th Martian day, or sol, of the mission.
Perseverance Cores 'Bunsen Peak'
Members of NASA’s Mars 2020 project install the Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment (MOXIE) into the chassis of NASA’s next Mars rover.
More
Mars 2020 engineers install the Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment (MOXIE) into the chassis of the rover.
This Is One Mars Rover With MOXIE
Meet the 23rd Martian sample collected by NASA’s Mars Perseverance rover – "Lefroy Bay," a sample taken from a region of Jezero Crater that is especially rich in carbonate, a mineral linked to habi...
More
Meet the 23rd Martian sample collected by NASA’s Mars Perseverance rover – "Lefroy Bay," a sample taken from a region of Jezero Crater that is especially rich in carbonate, a mineral linked to habitability.
Meet the Mars Samples: Lefroy Bay (Sample 23)
Video footage from the Mastcam-Z instrument aboard NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover provides a big-picture perspective of the 13th flight of the agency’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, on Sept. 4, 2021.
More
Video footage from the Mastcam-Z instrument aboard NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover provides a big-picture perspective of the 13th flight of the agency’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, on Sept. 4, 2021.
Ingenuity Mars Helicopter's 13th Flight: Wide-Angle Video From Perseverance
The Mars 2020 rover undergoes processing inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Feb. 14, 2020.
More
The Mars 2020 rover undergoes processing inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Feb. 14, 2020.
Mars 2020 Rover Processing in PHSF - Cleaning
The Mars 2020 rover undergoes processing inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Feb. 14, 2020.
More
The Mars 2020 rover undergoes processing inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Feb. 14, 2020.
Mars 2020 Sky Crane Processing in PHSF

You Might Also Like

The agency is asking the NASA community to work together to develop a revised plan that leverages innovation and proven technology.
More
NASA Sets Path to Return Mars Samples, Seeks Innovative Designs
NASA Sets Path to Return Mars Samples, Seeks Innovative Designs
NASA has proven powered, controlled flight is possible on other worlds, just as the Wright brothers proved it was possible on Earth.
More
After Three Years on Mars, NASA's Ingenuity Helicopter Mission Ends
After Three Years on Mars, NASA's Ingenuity Helicopter Mission Ends
The agency established the board in May 2023 to evaluate the technical, cost, and schedule plans prior to confirmation of the mission’s design.
More
NASA Releases Independent Review's Mars Sample Return Report
NASA Releases Independent Review's Mars Sample Return Report
A pair of quakes in 2021 sent seismic waves deep into the Red Planet’s core, giving scientists the best data yet on its size and composition.
More
NASA InSight Study Provides Clearest Look Ever at Martian Core
NASA InSight Study Provides Clearest Look Ever at Martian Core
Ten sample tubes, capturing an amazing variety of Martian geology, have been deposited on Mars’ surface so they could be studied on Earth in the future.
More
NASA's Perseverance Rover Completes Mars Sample Depot
NASA's Perseverance Rover Completes Mars Sample Depot
Filled with rock, the sample tube will be one of 10 forming a depot of tubes that could be considered for a journey to Earth by the Mars Sample Return campaign.
More
NASA's Perseverance Rover Deposits First Sample on Mars Surface
NASA's Perseverance Rover Deposits First Sample on Mars Surface