Mars 2020 is the beginning of a Mars Sample Return campaign that will include two missions launching in 2026 to collect cached samples, launch them into Martian orbit, and return them to Earth.
The Mars 2020 mission is designed to last at least one Martian year, or 687 Earth days.
The Mars 2020 Perseverance mission is part of NASA’s robotic exploration of Mars that leads toward sending humans to Mars.
The rover name "Perseverance" was selected through a student competition and serves as the name of the Mars 2020 rover.
The Perseverance rover carries a small commemorative plate measuring 8 by 0.13 m that features a version of the Rod of Asclepius and an image of the Earth showing the Mars 2020 launch trajectory.
If Mars 2020 misses its current launch window, the next Mars launch window opens in 26 months.
United Launch Alliance is providing the Atlas V rocket to launch Mars 2020.
NASA used agency aircraft to ferry personnel and equipment to Kennedy Space Center to reduce risks of coronavirus exposure from commercial flights during Mars 2020 pre-launch preparations.
Mars 2020 is closely modeled on the Mars Science Laboratory mission and its Curiosity rover and will land in a similar fashion while incorporating added landing system features for more precise targeting of the landing site.
On-site personnel at JPL include staff making final preparations for the Mars 2020 mission launching in July, personnel working on a few other critical projects, and employees involved in the safety and security of the lab.
NASA raised the Mars 2020 mission to the highest priority because its rover Perseverance has a narrow launch window between mid-July and early August 2020.
The Mars 2020 rover mission experienced technical problems that increased its cost by $360,000,000.
Mars 2020’s cost growth required austerity across the portfolio of other Mars missions to accommodate the overruns.
The Tianwen-1 mission will launch in the July–August Mars 2020 launch window alongside NASA’s Perseverance Mars 2020 rover and the United Arab Emirates’ Hope Mars orbiter.
About 80 people were working on the Mars 2020 spacecraft at Kennedy Space Center in April 2020.
NASA secured the use of its research aircraft to shuttle Mars 2020 personnel between Kennedy Space Center and California to reduce their exposure to public airlines.
Work on Mars 2020 at Kennedy Space Center has included installing the Mars Helicopter and fueling the spacecraft’s descent stage.
NASA’s Mars 2020 rover mission has a $2,400,000,000 development cost.
NASA requires much of its available PPE for its own activities, including launch preparations for the Mars 2020 mission.
NASA is moving ahead with the Mars 2020 mission and its Perseverance rover because of a narrow launch window that opens in mid-July.