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NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover is currently ascending the Jezero Crater and will soon reach its rim. It is set to investigate the rim of the crater, the “Witch Hazel Hill", and more to shed light on if there ever was life on Mars, and if yes, then when did it disappear? 

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It is expected to reach its destination by early December. As it climbed up, the rover took a mind-blowing photo of the Jezero Crater’s interior. The photo also shows the wheel tracks made by the rover during its epic trip which involved a slip here and there. 

The panoramic view shows some wonderful landmarks in the rover's nearly four-year stay on Mars. The final photo is made up of 44 images taken on September 27, the 1,282nd Martian day of Perseverance’s mission. 

The mosaic shows the landing spot of the rover, the place it first encountered sedimentary rocks, Mars’ first sample depot, and the final airfield for NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter. 

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The stunning shot was taken by the rover near a location nicknamed by the researchers “Faraway Rock,” about halfway up the crater wall.

Mars view

(Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech)

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“The image not only shows our past and present but also shows the biggest challenge to getting where we want to be in the future,” said Perseverance’s deputy project manager, Rick Welch of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. 

Also Read: Perseverance dissects a rock and gives birth to even more questions

“If you look at the right side of the mosaic, you begin to get an idea of what we’re dealing with. Mars didn’t want to make it easy for anyone to get to the top of this ridge.”

The rover's trip at the Jezero Crater has seen it make some steep climbs. However, the panoramic view shows a slope of about 20 degrees on the right side, which is the first time it has travelled such a steep grade on a slippery surface. 

Perseverance makes a steep climb

Perseverance has climbed 20-degree inclines before, but the arduous trip through the slippery terrain makes the incline seen in the photo historic.

The region is moving on and is filled with dust and sand with a thin, brittle crust, and is so slippery that on some days Perseverance has only managed to cover about 50 per cent of the distance it would have on a less slippery surface. Once, it covered just 20 per cent of the planned route. 

“Mars rovers have driven over steeper terrain, and they’ve driven over more slippery terrain, but this is the first time one had to handle both — and on this scale,” said JPL’s Camden Miller. 

Miller was earlier a rover planner for Curiosity and is now in the same role on the Perseverance mission.