Two Rovers, Billions of Years of Martian History – NASA’s Perseverance and Curiosity Rovers
NASA has two rovers on Mars – but they’re exploring entirely different eras of the planet’s past.
Separated by 2,300 miles, the two rovers are uncovering clues from very different moments in Martian history. Perseverance is on the rim of Jezero Crater, where it’s studying some of the oldest Martian terrain ever explored while searching for signs of ancient microbial life. Meanwhile, Curiosity is climbing Mount Sharp inside Gale Crater, where layers of rock reveal how Mars’ climate changed as water dried up from its surface.
Together, the missions are helping scientists reconstruct how Mars formed, when and where water existed, and the planet’s history of having the right conditions to support life. Their discoveries are offering a clearer picture of how Mars became the dry and dusty world we know today.
For more information, follow the rovers’ mission websites:
https://science.nasa.gov/mission/mars-2020-perseverance/
https://science.nasa.gov/mission/msl-curiosity/
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS/ESA/University of Arizona/JHUAPL/USGS Astrogeology Science Center
Transcript
NASA has two rovers on Mars, and they’re currently exploring completely different chapters of Martian history.
They’re 2,300 miles apart — or roughly the distance from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C.
But the real divide between them isn’t miles.
It’s millions — even billions — of years.
In and around Jezero Crater, the Perseverance rover is looking back toward Mars’ earliest years — searching for signs of ancient microbial life.
After exploring an area of the crater that was once an ancient river delta, Perseverance climbed to the crater rim to reach terrain that’s nearly 4 billion years old.
These rocks were here long before water filled the crater.
Scientists even believe some rocks in this area formed when Mars was still shaping its crust and atmosphere — and massive asteroids were pummeling the planet’s surface.
This terrain is a time capsule from the earliest period of the solar system.
Meanwhile, over 2,000 miles to the east, the Curiosity rover is looking for evidence that ancient Mars had the right conditions to support life.
Inside Gale Crater, Curiosity is climbing Mount Sharp — a mountain built from layers of sediment deposited over millions of years.
Each layer is younger than the one below it, creating a geological timeline that records how Mars changed.
So while Perseverance looks back toward Mars’ formative years — asking how the planet came of age — Curiosity is moving forward in time, reading a later story of water, climate, and habitability.
Together, they’re helping scientists reconstruct how Mars formed, how it changed, and how it went from wet to dry.