We're bringing a piece of Mars back to Earth 🚀 Our Perseverance rover is currently rolling through Jezero Crater, picking up samples from the Red Planet as it goes. Later this decade, we plan to collect the samples from Perseverance. (We're also sending along two Ingenuity-class helicopters for potential backup if needed.) These samples would lift off in our Mars Ascent Vehicle and hitch a ride back home in the EuropeanSpaceAgency's Earth Return Orbiter; when they land on Earth (currently scheduled for 2033), they'll be the first scientific samples we've ever brought back from another planet. This month also marks the 25th anniversary of the Mars Pathfinder landing. After touching down on July 4, 1997, the Pathfinder lander deployed Sojourner, our first-ever rover on the Red Planet; Sojourner spent 83 days roaming the surface of Mars, leading the way for our current and future generations of Martian explorers. Alt text: This image of Mars is a mosaic photo of 102 images taken by N...