Jezero crater is where NASA’s Perseverance rover collected its first rock sample on Mars.
Perseverance landed inside Jezero crater on February 18, 2021. The crater was selected because orbital images show an ancient river delta and channels that once carried water into a lake. Such environments can preserve chemical or structural evidence of past microbial life.
The rover collected its first cored rock sample, called Roubion, in September 2021. It sealed samples in titanium tubes for a possible future Mars Sample Return campaign. Perseverance also studies the crater’s geology and tests technologies for future exploration.
Jezero is not the same site as Gale crater, where Curiosity landed in 2012. Endurance crater is an Opportunity-era site, while Gusev crater was explored by Spirit.