JPL
Careers
Education
Science & Technology
JPL Logo
JPL Logo
Mars
.

The Mast Is Raised for NASA's Mars 2020 Rover

Jun 14, 2019
Members of NASA's Mars 2020 project take a moment after attaching the remote sensing mast to the Mars 2020 rover. The image was taken on June 5, 2019, in the Spacecraft Assembly Facility's High Bay 1 clean room at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.› Full image and caption
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Engineers and technicians at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, install the remote sensing mast on the Mars 2020 rover. The image was taken on June 5, 2019, in the Spacecraft Assembly Facility's High Bay 1 clean room at JPL.› Full image and caption
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Engineers at JPL take a group selfie after attaching the remote sensing mast to the Mars 2020 rover.

In this image, taken on June 5, 2019, engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, take a moment after attaching the remote sensing mast to the Mars 2020 rover in the Spacecraft Assembly Facility's High Bay 1 clean room. Full integration of the mast - a process that includes installation of science instrument sensors, electrical wiring and checkout - continued into the following week, concluding on June 11.

During Mars 2020's launch, interplanetary cruise, and its fast and fiery descent toward the Martian surface, the mast will be in stowed flat on the rover's deck. Soon after touchdown, the mast (which tops out at over 7 feet, or 2.2 meters) will be raised to provide a high perch for the SuperCam, Mastcam-Z and Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzerinstruments as well as four Navcam engineering cameras.

Mars 2020 will launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida in July of 2020. It will land at Jezero Crater on Feb. 18, 2021.

In a mission first, the rover carries a sample-caching system that will collect Martian rock and soil samples and store them on the planet's surface for retrieval and return to Earth by subsequent missions. Mars 2020 will also be the first spacecraft in the history of planetary exploration with the ability to accurately retarget its point of touchdown during the landing sequence - technology that could prove essential to future crewed missions to the Moon and Mars.

Charged with returning astronauts to the Moon by 2024, NASA's Artemis lunar exploration plans will establish a sustained human presence on and around the Moon by 2028. We will use what we learn on the Moon to prepare to send astronauts to Mars.

JPL is building and will manage operations of the Mars 2020 rover for the NASA Science Mission Directorate at the agency's headquarters in Washington.

If you want to send your name to Mars with NASA's 2020 mission, you can do so until Sept. 30, 2019. Add your name to the list and obtain a souvenir boarding pass to Mars here:

https://go.nasa.gov/Mars2020Pass

For more information about the mission, go to:

https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/

http://mars.nasa.gov

News Media Contact

DC Agle

Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.

818-393-9011

agle@jpl.nasa.gov

2019-115

Related News

Mars .

NASA Awards Mars Ascent Propulsion System Contract for Sample Return

Mars .

NASA to Provide Update on Perseverance ‘Firsts’ Since Mars Landing

Technology .

Futuristic Space Technology Concepts Selected by NASA for Initial Study

Mars .

Testing Proves Its Worth With Successful Mars Parachute Deployment

Mars .

NASA’s Perseverance Rover Gives High-Definition Panoramic View of Landing Site

Mars .

NASA to Reveal New Video, Images From Mars Perseverance Rover

Mars .

NASA's Mars Perseverance Rover Provides Front-Row Seat to Landing, First Audio Recording of Red Planet

Mars .

NASA’s Perseverance Rover Sends Sneak Peek of Mars Landing

Mars .

NASA’s Mars Helicopter Reports In

Mars .

Touchdown! NASA’s Mars Perseverance Rover Safely Lands on Red Planet

Explore More

Image .

Hebes Chasma - False Color

Image .

LCAM Views the Heat Shield After Being Released from Mars 2020 Spacecraft

Image .

Arabia Terra Crater - False Color

Image .

Perseverance's LCAM Views the Heat Shield During Descent

Image .

HiRISE Views Perseverance After Landing

Image .

GIF: How Mastcam-Z's 360-Degree Panorama Was Taken

Image .

Still: How Mastcam-Z's 360-Degree Panorama Was Taken

Image .

Terra Cimmeria Dunes - False Color

Video .

What's Up - March 2021

Image .

Nili Fossae - False Color

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
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