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Six missions have operated on the Martian surface since 1997 — three simultaneously in 2022.
| Attribute | Perseverance (Mars 2020) Mars 2020 Active · Last updated 2026-06-12Trust: Agency-primaryⓘ Last verified Remove × | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Agency | ESA | NASA/JPL | NASA/JPL |
| Status | upcoming | Mission Complete | Active |
| Vehicle type | rover | rover | rover |
| Launch date | NET late 2028 (Falcon Heavy from LC-39A) | 1996-12-04 | 2020-07-30 |
| Landing date | TBD ~2030 (post-2028 launch window) | 1997-07-04 | 2021-02-18 |
| Landing site | Oxia Planum | Ares Vallis, Chryse Planitia | Octavia E. Butler Landing, Jezero Crater |
| Launch mass | ~310 kgas of [2] | 10.6 kgas of [1] | 1,025 kgas of [1] |
| Power system | Solar panels + NASA-supplied radioisotope heater units (RHUs) for night/winter survival | Solar panels + non-rechargeable lithium thionyl chloride batteries | Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (MMRTG) |
| Instruments | 9 Pasteur payload instruments + 2 m sub-surface drillas of [2]Includes PanCam, ISEM, CLUPI, WISDOM radar, ADRON-RM, Ma_MISS, MicrOmega, RLS Raman, MOMA organic molecule analyser | 3 science instruments (APXS ×2, ASI/MET) + 3 camerasas of [1]Alpha Proton X-ray Spectrometer (fore/aft), Atmospheric Structure Instrument/Meteorology Package | 7 primary science instruments + 19 cameras + 2 microphonesas of [1]Mastcam-Z, SuperCam, PIXL, SHERLOC, RIMFAX, MEDA, MOXIE; MOXIE completed Oct 2023 |
| Distance traveled | — | 0.1 km (100 metres)as of [1]Traveled ~100 m over 83 sols; contact lost when lander base station batteries depleted | >30 kmas of [3]Passed the 30 km odometry milestone in October 2024; actively driving ↑ Farthest |
| Mission outcome | Europe's first Mars rover, designed to drill 2 m below the surface — deeper than any previous Mars mission — to search for biosignatures shielded from surface radiation. After the 2022 suspension of Russian cooperation, ESA rebuilt the mission with NASA support: on April 16, 2026, NASA formally began implementation of its contributions (Falcon Heavy launch services from LC-39A, braking engines for the landing platform, and radioisotope heater units), targeting a late-2028 launch and a ~2030 landing at Oxia Planum. | First Mars rover in history. Deployed by the Mars Pathfinder lander on July 4, 1997, Sojourner operated 83 sols — nearly 12× its 7-sol design lifetime. Its APXS instrument analyzed 16 rocks and soil patches, including 'Barnacle Bill' and 'Yogi', revealing andesite-like compositions suggesting a more geochemically differentiated volcanic history than expected. The mission proved roving exploration on Mars was feasible. | First spacecraft to demonstrate oxygen production on Mars (MOXIE). Has collected 33 sample tubes (including the Three Forks depot cache) — samples that currently have no retrieval plan after the NASA-ESA Mars Sample Return campaign lost its funding in January 2026. Documented diverse rock types in Jezero's ancient river delta. Deployed and supported Ingenuity through 72 flights. |
All 6 surface vehicles with primary-source citations from NASA JPL, NASA NSSDCA, and CNSA. Pure URL state — bookmark or share the link and the comparison reproduces exactly.