JPL
Careers
Education
Science & Technology
JPL Logo
JPL Logo
Image

Perseverance Rover's SkyCam

Nov 13, 2020
SkyCam is a sky-facing camera aboard NASA's Perseverance Mars rover. As part of MEDA, the rover's set of weather instruments, SkyCam will take images and video of clouds passing in the Martian sky.

SkyCam is a sky-facing camera aboard NASA's Perseverance Mars rover. As part of the Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer (MEDA), the rover's set of weather instruments, SkyCam will take images and video of clouds passing in the Martian sky.

MEDA was provided to NASA by the Centro de Astrobiología (CAB) at the Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial in Madrid, Spain.

A key objective for Perseverance's mission on Mars is astrobiology, including the search for signs of ancient microbial life. The rover will characterize the planet's geology and past climate, pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet, and be the first mission to collect and cache Martian rock and regolith (broken rock and dust).

Subsequent missions, currently under consideration by NASA in cooperation with the European Space Agency, would send spacecraft to Mars to collect these cached samples from the surface and return them to Earth for in-depth analysis.

The Mars 2020 mission is part of a larger program that includes missions to the Moon as a way to prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet. Charged with returning astronauts to the Moon by 2024, NASA will establish a sustained human presence on and around the Moon by 2028 through NASA's Artemis lunar exploration plans.

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which is managed for NASA by Caltech in Pasadena, California, built and manages operations of the Perseverance and Curiosity rovers.

Download JPG
Download TIFF
Mission
  • Perseverance Rover
Spacecraft
  • Perseverance
Instrument
  • Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer (MEDA)
Credit
NASA/JPL-Caltech

Keep Exploring

Ingenuity's Blades Are Released

Perseverance's Selfie with Ingenuity

Mastcam-Z Gives Ingenuity a Close-up

Perseverance Shows Off its Nameplates

Rover DNA Inscription

Ingenuity Deployed on Mars

Ingenuity Helicopter is Ready to Drop

Ingenuity Goes Vertical

WATSON Spies Ingenuity on Perseverance Rover's Belly

Ingenuity Swings Down

About JPL
Who We Are
Executive Council
Directors of JPL
JPL History
Documentary Series
Virtual Tour
Annual Reports
Missions
All
Current
Past
Future
News
All
Earth
Mars
Solar System
Universe
Technology
Galleries
Images
Videos
Audio
Podcasts
Infographics
Visions of the Future
Slice of History
Engage
JPL and the Community
Lecture Series
Public Tours
Events
Team Competitions
JPL Speakers Bureau
Topics
Solar System
Mars
Earth
Climate Change
Stars and Galaxies
Exoplanets
Technology
JPL Life
For Media
Contacts and Information
Press Kits
More
Asteroid Watch
Robotics at JPL
Subscribe to Newsletter
Universe Newsletter
Social Media
RSS
Get the Latest from JPL
Follow Us

JPL is a federally funded research and development center managed for NASA by Caltech.

More from JPL
Careers Education Science & Technology Acquisitions JPL Store
Careers
Education
Science & Technology
Acquisitions
JPL Store
Related NASA Sites
Basics of Spaceflight
Climate Kids
Earth / Global Climate Change
Exoplanet Exploration
Mars Exploration
Solar System Exploration
Space Place
NASA's Eyes Visualization Project
Voyager Interstellar Mission
NASA
Caltech
Privacy
Image Policy
FAQ
Feedback
Site Manager: Veronica McGregor
Site Editors: Tony Greicius, Randal Jackson, Naomi Hartono