Mandatory Credit: Photo by NASA/UPI/Shutterstock (11788949b) This image was taken during the first drive of NASA's Perseverance rover on Mars on March 4, 2021. Perseverance landed on February 18, 2021, and the team has been spending the weeks since landing checking out the rover to prepare for surface operations. This image was taken by the rover's Navigation Cameras.? A key objective for Perseverance's mission on Mars is astrobiology, including the search for signs of ancient microbial life. In cooperation with ESA (European Space Agency), subsequent NASA missions would send spacecraft to Mars to collect these sealed samples from the surface and return them to Earth for in-depth analysis. NASA's Perseverance Rover Transmits to Earth from the Surface of Mars - 06 Mar 2021