JPL
Careers
Education
Science & Technology
JPL Logo
JPL Logo
Image

Test Rover Moves to Mars Yard

Sept. 4, 2020
Technicians move an engineering version of the Perseverance Mars rover into to its new home in the Mars Yard, part of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California.

click here for larger version of figure 1 for PIA23965
Figure 1

click here for larger version of figure 2 for PIA23965
Figure 2

click here for larger version of figure 3 for PIA23965
Figure 3

click here for larger version of figure 4 for PIA23965
Figure 4

click here for larger version of figure 5 for PIA23965
Figure 5

click here for larger version of figure 6 for PIA23965
Figure 6
Click on images for larger versions





Click here for animation

Technicians move a full-scale engineering version of NASA's Perseverance Mars rover into to its new home — a garage facing the Mars Yard at the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California — on Sept. 4, 2020.

This vehicle system test bed (VSTB) rover was built in a warehouselike assembly room not far from the Mars Yard — an area that simulates the Red Planet's surface — and enables the mission team to test how hardware and software will perform before they transmit commands to the real rover on Mars. It also goes by the name OPTIMISM (Operational Perseverance Twin for Integration of Mechanisms and Instruments Sent to Mars).

The Perseverance rover's astrobiology mission will search for signs of ancient microbial life. It will also characterize the planet's climate and geology, pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet, and be the first planetary 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.

JPL, which is managed for NASA by Caltech in Pasadena, California, built and manages operations of the Perseverance rover.

Learn more about the Mars 2020 mission at: https://www.nasa.gov/perseverance

Download JPG
Download TIFF
Mission
Credit
NASA/JPL-Caltech

Keep Exploring

Perseverance's Three Forks Sample Depot Selfie

Mars Rover and Team at Adler Planetarium

Testing a Sample Drop in the Mars Yard

WATSON Documents First Sample on the Martian Surface

OPTIMISM Sticks the Landing

Perseverance Deposits Its First Sample on the Martian Surface

Perseverance's Mastcam-Z Views Rockytop

Mastcam-Z Views the Eastern Edge of Jezero's Delta

Perseverance's Mastcam-Z Views Bettys Rock

Perseverance Views Bettys Rock

About JPL
Who We Are
Executive Council
Directors
Careers
Internships
The JPL Story
JPL Achievements
Documentary Series
Annual Reports
Missions
Current
Past
Future
All
News
All
Earth
Solar System
Stars and Galaxies
Subscribe to JPL News
Galleries
Images
Videos
Audio
Podcasts
Apps
Visions of the Future
Slice of History
Robotics at JPL
Events
Lecture Series
Team Competitions
Speakers Bureau
Calendar
Visit
Public Tours
Virtual Tour
Directions and Maps
Topics
JPL Life
Solar System
Mars
Earth
Climate Change
Exoplanets
Stars and Galaxies
Robotics
More
Asteroid Watch
NASA's Eyes Visualizations
Universe - Internal Newsletter
Social Media
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 Managers: Veronica McGregor, Randal Jackson
Site Editors: Tony Greicius, Naomi Hartono
CL#: 21-0018