This enhanced-color, high-resolution mosaic showing Mars’ Jezero crater was captured by NASA’s Perseverance Mastcam-Z instrument as the rover climbed the crater’s western wall. Many of the sights the rover visited during its three-and-a-half-year exploration of Jezero can be seen, and the vehicle’s tracks are also visible.

The 44 frames used to generate the mosaic were acquired on September 27, 2024, the 1282nd Martian day, or sol, of Perseverance’s mission. The rover was about halfway up the climb near a location Perseverance’s science team calls “Faraway Rock.”

Figure A: Enhanced color – annotated
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Figure A is a version of the enhanced color mosaic with annotations showing the distance (in kilometers) between the rover and nearly 50 labeled points of interest.

The labeled locations include, from left to right:

Figure B: Enhanced color – cropped
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Figure B is a cropped version of the mosaic with enhanced colors.

Image C: Color Enhanced – Cropped – Annotated
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Figure C is an annotated and cropped version of the mosaic with enhanced colors.

Figure D: Natural color
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Figure D is a natural color version of the mosaic.

Figure E: Natural color – annotated
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Figure E is an annotated version of the mosaic in natural colors.

Figure F: Natural color – cropped
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Figure F is a cropped version of the mosaic in natural colors.

Figure G: Natural color – cropped – annotated
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Figure G is an annotated and cropped version of the mosaic in natural colors.

The enhanced color versions of the mosaic incorporate the color bands of the image to improve visual contrast and accentuate color differences.

Arizona State University leads the activities of the Mastcam-Z instrument, working on the design, manufacturing, testing and operation of the cameras in collaboration with Malin Space Science Systems in San Diego, and in collaboration with the Niels Bohr Institute of the University of Copenhagen on the design, fabrication and testing of the calibration targets.

A major goal of Perseverance’s mission on Mars is astrobiology, including the search for signs of ancient microbial life. The rover will characterize the planet’s geology and past climate, pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet, and be the first mission to collect and store Martian rock and regolith (broken rock and dust).

Subsequent NASA missions, in collaboration with ESA (European Space Agency), would send spacecraft to Mars to collect these sealed samples from the surface and return them to Earth for in-depth analysis.

The Mars 2020 Perseverance mission is part of NASA’s Moon to Mars exploration approach, which includes Artemis missions to the moon that will help prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet.

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, managed for the agency by Caltech, built and operates the Perseverance rover.

For more information about Perseverance: science.nasa.gov/mission/mars-2020-perseverance/