NASA's Mars rover Perseverance has uncovered rocks in a dry river channel that may hold potential signs of ancient microscopic life.

The latest selfie by NASA's Perseverance rover at Mars has captured an unexpected guest: a Martian dust devil.

NASA's Perseverance rover has detected the first aurora at Mars that's visible to the human eye.

NASA is pitching a cheaper and quicker way of getting rocks and soil back from Mars.

A NASA rover on Mars is tackling a new challenge and climbing to the rim of a crater.

A NASA rover on Mars by chance had its microphone on when a whirling tower of red dust passed overhead last year and caught the sound.

NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter recently captured images of the gear that helped the Perseverance rover land on Mars.

Jessie Elliott has spent most of her life in Metro Detroit, well known in prominent philanthropic, social and business circles. You would never imagine that the confident and successful business entrepreneur today suffered from such traumatic and unthinkable experiences.

NASA's newest Mars rover has completed its first sample grab, tucking away the tube of rock for return to Earth.

NASA's newest Mars rover has successfully collected its first rock sample for return to Earth, after last month's attempt came up empty.

The small helicopter that landed on Mars with rover Perseverance has exceeded expectations, flying for the 12th time on the red planet and capturing the landscape like never before.

NASA is blaming unusually soft rock for last week's sampling fiasco on Mars.

For its third Mars flight, NASA's small Mars chopper flew at speeds and distances well beyond what had ever been previously tested here on Earth.

The first flight lasted just 30 seconds with Ingenuity simply taking off, hovering 10 feet above the ground and touching down again. Each flight will get more complicated.

NASA's little Mars helicopter has aced its second test flight.

One of the goals of NASA’s Mars Rover, Perseverance, is to test new technology that could support future human missions to the Red Planet.

All systems are “go” for the maiden Mars flight of NASA’s small helicopter Ingenuity this weekend.

And as of Tuesday morning, NASA's small helicopter Ingenuity has survived a cold night on Mars and is nearly ready for its maiden flight.

The most important aspect of NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover is obviously to search for past life on the Red Planet -- but the most fascinating aspect may take place this week.

(NASA/JPL-Caltech via AP)CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – A piece of the Wright brothers’ first airplane is on Mars. NASA’s experimental Martian helicopter holds a small swatch of fabric from the 1903 Wright Flyer, the space agency revealed Tuesday. The helicopter, named Ingenuity, hitched a ride to the red planet with the Perseverance rover, arriving last month. It will mark a "Wright brothers' moment," noted Bobby Braun, director for planetary science at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The swatch made the 300 million-mile journey to Mars with the blessing of the Wright brothers' great-grandniece and great-grandnephew, said park curator Steve Lucht.

As a way to honor Native Americans -- and, particularly, a Navajo engineer on the Mars Rover Perseverance team -- NASA is naming points of interest on Mars using the Navajo language. The latest NASA rover to land on Mars is currently focusing on a rock named after the planet it’s on -- but in Navajo. The rock is called “Maaz,” which means “Mars” in the Navajo language. The Navajo engineer on the Perseverance team helped get permission and collaboration from his tribe to use the names. Listen: NASA Perseverance rover captures audio from MarsAdNASA’s Mars Rover Perseverance successfully landed on Feb. 18 near an ancient river delta in the Jezero Crater to search for signs of ancient microscopic life.

Local 4 meteorologist Paul Gross was born in Detroit and has spent his entire life and career right here in southeast Michigan. Paul has researched, written and produced eight half-hour documentaries for WDIV, as well as many science, historical and environmental stories.

This photo made available by NASA was taken during the first drive of the Perseverance rover on Mars on Thursday, March 4, 2021. (NASA/JPL-Caltech via AP)CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – NASA’s newest Mars rover hit the dusty red road this week, putting 21 feet on the odometer in its first test drive. The Perseverance rover ventured from its landing position Thursday, two weeks after setting down on the red planet to seek signs of past life. AdPerseverance — NASA's biggest and most elaborate rover yet — became the ninth U.S. spacecraft to successfully land on Mars on Feb. 18. China hopes to land its smaller rover — currently orbiting the red planet — in another few months.

NASA Mars Rover Perseverance is giving a never-before-seen view of the Red Planet just days after its successful landing. With 19 cameras on board, Perseverance provides a 360-degree panorama view of Mars, visible in a new high definition image of the rover’s landing site. Check out the view in the video above from NBC News, or take a longer look in NASA’s Twitter video touring the Mars landing site below. #CountdownToMarshttps://t.co/9tpv4Vl4lV — NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover (@NASAPersevere) February 25, 2021The Mars rover successfully landed on Feb. 18 near an ancient river delta in the Jezero Crater to search for signs of ancient microscopic life. AdAs NASA’s biggest and most advanced rover, Perseverance successfully tackled NASA’s smallest and trickiest target by landing in the Jezero Crater, which is a 5-by-4-mile strip on an ancient river delta full of pits, cliffs and rocks.

NASA shared the first video it received from the Perseverance rover on Mars. The new point-of-view video released Monday shows the Perseverance rover shedding its shields and performing its landing maneuvers, including the successful touchdown. Watch how we did it.#CountdownToMars pic.twitter.com/Avv13dSVmQ — NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover (@NASAPersevere) February 22, 2021The Perseverance rover landed last Thursday near an ancient river delta in Jezero Crater to search for signs of ancient microscopic life. After spending the weekend binge-watching the descent and landing video, the team at Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, shared the video at a news conference. Read more: NASA releases Mars landing video: ‘Stuff of our dreams’Ad

New video shows the dramatic landing of NASA’s new Mars Rover last week. NASA released new point-of-view video showing the Perseverance Rover shedding its shields and performing its landing maneuvers, including the successful touchdown. Your front-row seat to my Mars landing is here. Watch how we did it.#CountdownToMars pic.twitter.com/Avv13dSVmQ — NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover (@NASAPersevere) February 22, 2021Perseverance, the biggest, most advanced rover ever sent by NASA, became the ninth spacecraft since the 1970s to successfully land on Mars, every one of them from the U.S. Scientists believe that if life ever flourished on Mars, it would have happened 3 billion to 4 billion years ago, when water still flowed on the planet.

This Thursday, Feb. 18, 2021 photo provided by NASA shows the Perseverance rover lowered towards the surface of Mars during its powered descent. (NASA via AP)CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – NASA will offer a live update on their Perseverance rover after landing safely on Mars last week. NASA equipped the spacecraft with a record 25 cameras and two microphones, many of which were turned on during Thursday’s descent. It's the ninth time that NASA has successfully landed on Mars __ and the fifth rover. As it did with 2012's Curiosity rover — still roaming 2,300 miles (3,750 kilometers) away — NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter photographed Perseverance descending beneath its massive parachute.

Perseverance is healthy and working just fine days after landing on Mars. Now we’re getting the first images from the NASA rover -- and they’re stunning. There are a lot of scientific instruments on the rover that we will get to see in action. It also has a “weather station” on it that will analyze the Mars weather. Full Screen Full Screen 1 / 3 This Thursday, Feb. 18, 2021 photo provided by NASA shows the Perseverance rover lowered towards the surface of Mars during its powered descent.

This Thursday, Feb. 18, 2021 photo provided by NASA shows the Perseverance rover lowered towards the surface of Mars during its powered descent. (NASA via AP)CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The world got its first close-up look at a Mars landing on Friday, as NASA released a stunning picture of its newest rover being lowered onto the dusty red surface. NASA equipped the spacecraft with a record 25 cameras and two microphones, many of which were turned on during Thursday’s descent. It's the ninth time that NASA has successfully landed on Mars __ and the fifth rover. As it did with 2012's Curiosity rover — still roaming 2,300 miles (3,750 kilometers) away — NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter photographed Perseverance descending beneath its massive parachute.

(Image: NASA JPL)NASA’s new Mars Rover “Perseverance” is sending back some amazing photos, just a day after landing on the red planet! #CountdownToMars pic.twitter.com/8SgV53S9KG — NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover (@NASAPersevere) February 19, 2021Read: NASA rover Perseverance lands on Mars: How it went, and what’s nextA couple of others show the rocky surface surrounding the Rover:An open horizon, with so much to explore. #CountdownToMars pic.twitter.com/hAaxeVGs04 — NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover (@NASAPersevere) February 19, 2021I love rocks. Can’t wait to find out.#CountdownToMarshttps://t.co/7w3rbvbyoL pic.twitter.com/H3q1M0YJAd — NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover (@NASAPersevere) February 19, 2021Every picture tells a story. Latest update and images: https://t.co/fnnEOOMWsV pic.twitter.com/39aGp963a3 — NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover (@NASAPersevere) February 19, 2021Perseverance, the biggest, most advanced rover ever sent by NASA, became the ninth spacecraft since the 1970s to successfully land on Mars, every one of them from the U.S.

This illustration provided by NASA depicts the Mars 2020 spacecraft carrying the Perseverance rover as it approaches Mars. Perseverance's $3 billion mission is the first leg in a U.S.-European effort to bring Mars samples to Earth in the next decade. (NASA/JPL-Caltech via AP)CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – NASA successfully landed its newest rover on Mars! #CountdownToMars pic.twitter.com/dkM9jE9I6X — NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover (@NASAPersevere) February 18, 2021Watch NASA’s live Mars Rover coverage below:Spacecraft aiming to land on Mars have skipped past the planet, burned up on entry, smashed into the surface, and made it down amid a fierce dust storm only to spit out a single fuzzy gray picture before dying. Almost 50 years after the first casualty at Mars, NASA is attempting its hardest Martian touchdown yet.

This illustration provided by NASA depicts the Mars 2020 spacecraft carrying the Perseverance rover as it approaches Mars. (NASA/JPL-Caltech via AP)CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – NASA will attempt to land its newest Mars Rover, Perseverance, on Thursday, more than six months after it left Earth. Watch NASA’s live Mars Rover coverage below. Almost 50 years after the first casualty at Mars, NASA is attempting its hardest Martian touchdown yet. COVID-19 PRECAUTIONSSpeaking of clean, NASA’s Mars Mission Control has never been so spotless.

This illustration provided by NASA depicts the Mars 2020 spacecraft carrying the Perseverance rover as it approaches Mars. Perseverance's $3 billion mission is the first leg in a U.S.-European effort to bring Mars samples to Earth in the next decade. (NASA/JPL-Caltech via AP)CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – NASA will attempt to land its newest Mars Rover, Perseverance, on Thursday, more than six months after it left Earth. Watch NASA’s live Mars Rover coverage below. Almost 50 years after the first casualty at Mars, NASA is attempting its hardest Martian touchdown yet.

NASA will attempt to land its newest Mars Rover, Perseverance, on Thursday -- and it won’t be easy. AdThe day is starting dry, but light snow will develop from south to north by late morning/early afternoon, and continue into Thursday evening. The number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus (COVID-19) in Michigan has risen to 577,203 as of Wednesday, including 15,188 deaths, state officials report. Michigan’s 7-day moving average for daily cases was 898 on Tuesday -- the lowest since October. The state also reports “active cases,” which were listed at 43,000 on Tuesday -- near the lowest it’s been since October.

Here’s a look at how NASA’s Perseverance rover will attempt to land on Mars on Thursday, Feb. 18, 2021. Dr. Roger Weins, a NASA scientist, explained why it’s so difficult to land on the Red Planet. “Partly because of the very thin air on Mars. But with that thin air on Mars, that only slows it down to several hundred mph, and that’s not good enough to land at all. After that, you have to use retro rockets.

(NASA via AP)CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – A NASA rover streaked through the orange Martian sky and landed on the planet Thursday, accomplishing the riskiest step yet in an epic quest to bring back rocks that could answer whether life ever existed on Mars. Two spacecraft from the United Arab Emirates and China swung into orbit around Mars on successive days last week. AdPerseverance, the biggest, most advanced rover ever sent by NASA, became the ninth spacecraft since the 1970s to successfully land on Mars, every one of them from the U.S. “Are we alone in this sort of vast cosmic desert, just flying through space, or is life much more common? Two older NASA landers are still humming along on Mars: 2012′s Curiosity rover and 2018′s InSight.

This illustration provided by NASA depicts the Mars 2020 spacecraft carrying the Perseverance rover as it approaches Mars. Perseverance's $3 billion mission is the first leg in a U.S.-European effort to bring Mars samples to Earth in the next decade. Almost 50 years after the first casualty at Mars, NASA is attempting its hardest Martian touchdown yet. The rover named Perseverance is headed Thursday for a compact 5-mile-by-4-mile (8-kilometer-by-6.4-kilometer) patch on the edge of an ancient river delta. AdROUND-TRIP TICKETScientists have wanted to get hold of Mars rocks ever since NASA’s Mariners provided the first close pictures a half-century ago.

Perseverance rover heads to Mars: Here's what to knowPublished: July 30, 2020, 6:55 amNASA's Perseverance is searching for actual signs of past microbial life on Mars, then bring them back to Earth.

Published: July 30, 2020, 7:03 am Updated: July 30, 2020, 8:05 amNASAs Perseverance rover will seek signs of ancient life and collect rock and soil samples for possible return to Earth. Perseverance was launched successfully Thursday morning from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. Perseverance is set to land on Mars Feb. 18, 2021 at the planets Jezero Crater. You can watch live coverage here:More:

NASAs Perseverance rover will seek signs of ancient life and collect rock and soil samples for possible return to Earth. The launch window for Perseverance opens Thursday, July 30 and closes Aug. 15, 2020. The launch is scheduled for 7:50 a.m. EDT at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, FloridaIt is set to land on Mars Feb. 18, 2021 at the planets Jezero Crater. You can watch the launch live here.

A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket that will launch to Mars arrives at Space Launch Complex 41 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Tuesday, July 28, 2020, in Cape Canaveral, Fla. The rocket scheduled to launch on Thursday will land on Mars in February 2021 and the Mars 2020 rover, named Perseverance, will study Martian geology. (AP Photo/John Raoux)CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. The summers third and final mission to Mars featuring NASA's most elaborate life-hunting rover is on the verge of liftoff. The rover Perseverance will follow Chinas rover-orbiter combo and a United Arab Emirates orbiter, both launched last week. First things first, though: Good flying weather is forecast for United Launch Alliance's Atlas V rocket.

This illustration made available by NASA depicts the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter on the red planet's surface near the Perseverance rover, left. NASA is upping the ante with its newest rover headed to Mars. Set to rocket away this week from Florida, Perseverance is NASA's brawniest and brainiest Martian rover yet. (NASA/JPL-Caltech via AP)

This illustration made available by NASA depicts the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter on the red planet's surface near the Perseverance rover, left. Set to rocket away this week from Florida, Perseverance is NASA's brawniest and brainiest Martian rover yet. (NASA/JPL-Caltech via AP)CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. With eight successful Mars landings, NASA is upping the ante with its newest rover. The spacecraft Perseverance set for liftoff this week is NASAs biggest and brainiest Martian rover yet. CURIOSITY:The six-wheeled, car-sized Perseverance is a copycat of NASAs Curiosity rover, prowling Mars since 2012, but with more upgrades and bulk.

BEIJING China launched its most ambitious Mars mission yet on Thursday in a bold attempt to join the United States in successfully landing a spacecraft on the red planet. And the U.S. is aiming to launch Perseverance, its most sophisticated Mars rover ever, from Cape Canaveral, Florida, next week. Chinas tandem spacecraft with both an orbiter and a rover will take seven months to reach Mars, like the others. The UAE spacecraft Amal, or Hope, which will orbit Mars but not land, is the Arab worlds first interplanetary mission. NASA's Perseverance rover is up next.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. NASA has delayed the launch of its newest Mars rover yet again to the end of July at the earliest this time for a rocket issue. Rocket maker United Launch Alliance needs extra time to deal with a liquid oxygen sensor line that showed questionable readings during a recent practice countdown, officials said Tuesday. The United Arab Emirates and China, meanwhile, still are pressing ahead with launches this month or next of Mars spacecraft. Russia and the European Space Agency had to bow out, delaying their Mars rover until 2022 because of delayed spacecraft testing and travel limitations due to the coronavirus pandemic. ___The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Department of Science Education.