What is NASA’s Perseverance rover?

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Why in News?

The tube will be part of a depot that will be considered for the return to Earth as part of the Mars Sample Return Campaign.

About Perseverance rover:

It is robotic explorer to land on Mars as part of NASA’s ongoing Mars 2020 Mission.
Main Job: Seek signs of ancient life and collect samples of rock and regolith (broken rock and soil) for possible return to Earth.
The rover will collect samples of rock and soil, encase them in tubes, and leave them on the planet’s surface to be returned to Earth at a future date.
Launch: It was launched on July 30, 2020 from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
Landing: Successfully landed on the surface of Mar’s Jezero Crater on Feb. 18, 2021.
Feautures:
It is about 3 metres long, 2.7 metres wide, and 2.2 metres tall.
It is about the size of a car, but weighs only about 1,025 kilograms with all instruments on board.
Power source: Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (MMRTG). Converts heat from the radioactive decay of plutonium into electricity.

Ingenuity Helicopter:

It is a small, autonomous aircraft.
Main Job: Technology demonstration to test the first powered flight on Mars.
The helicopter rode to Mars attached to the belly of the Perseverance rover.

It became the first aircraft in history to make a powered, controlled flight on another planet.

Q1) What is Mars 2020 Mission?

The Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover mission is part of NASA’s Mars Exploration Program, a long-term effort of robotic exploration of the Red Planet. The mission addresses high-priority science goals for Mars exploration, including key questions about the potential for life on Mars.

Source: NASA’s Perseverance rover completes ‘sample depot’ on Mars: Here’s how they will reach Earth