Mars 2020

NASA has released an image showing that the Perseverance Mars rover has successfully retrieved its first rock drill sample for return to Earth. Taken by the Mastcam-Z, the image shows a drill bit holding a pencil-thick core in the sample tube.

NASA's Ingenuity Mars helicopter has successfully flown for the fifth time. The autonomous rotorcraft lifted off from Wright Brothers Field in Jezero Crater for a 108-second flight that took it on a one-way trip to a new airfield 423 ft to the south.

NASA's Ingenuity Mars helicopter has again set new records, flying farther and faster than it has previously on Earth or Mars. At an altitude of 16 ft (5 m) it flew downrange for 164 ft (50 m) at a top speed of 6.6 ft/s (2 m/s).

Ingenuity is no longer just the world's most expensive hobby helicopter. The International Civil Aviation Organization has given an official flight designator and call-sign codes for Ingenuity and the "Wright Brothers Field" where it flew this week.

NASA's Ingenuity helicopter made history again today by flying horizontally on Mars for the first time. The rotorcraft lifted off and flew for 51.9 seconds, reaching an altitude of 16 ft and flying laterally for 7 ft before descending safely.

Perseverance has notched up another first by extracting oxygen from the Martian atmosphere. The rover's toaster-sized MOXIE unit converted carbon dioxide into about 5.4 grams of oxygen – a process that may one day help astronauts live off the land.

NASA's Ingenuity robotic helicopter has survived its first night on the surface of Mars. After being deployed on Martian soil, the miniature rotorcraft had to keep itself warm through the night for the first time using only its internal power.

NASA says its Ingenuity Mars helicopter will make its first flight on the Red Planet on April 8 or later, depending on weather conditions and preflight tests. If successful, it will be will the first powered, controlled flight on another planet.

NASA has awarded Northrop Grumman a contract worth up to US$84.5 million to help develop the Mars Ascent Propulsion System, which will be used as part of a plan to return samples collected by the Perseverance rover to Earth.

NASA has released a new video that includes historic color, high-resolution footage from multiple cameras on the Mars 2020 spacecraft as it delivered the Perseverance rover to the surface of the Red Planet last week.

NASA has released the first high-resolution images sent back by the Perseverance Mars rover, including a dramatic picture taken by the Sky Crane landing vehicle of it just before touching down on the Red Planet.

NASA's Perseverance Mars rover has safely landed on the Red Planet. The robotic explorer touched down in the Jezero Crater at 3:55 pm EST after a dramatic seven-minute descent, marking the beginning of the most ambitious interplanetary mission yet.