A light-colored “paver stone,” like the ones seen in this mosaic image, will be the likely target for first sampling by the Perseverance rover. This image was taken July 8, 2021, in the “Cratered Floor Fractured Rough” geologic unit at Jezero Crater.
The search for signs of ancient Martian life has begun! Perseverance is getting ready to collect its first-ever sample of Martian rock, which future planned missions will transport to Earth. The six-wheeled astrobiologist and geologist is searching for a scientifically interesting target in a part of Jezero Crater called the “Cratered Floor Fractured Rough.” 
This important mission milestone is expected to begin within the next two weeks. Perseverance landed on Mars Feb. 18, and the rover is now exploring a 1.5-square-mile patch of crater floor that may contain Jezero Crater’s deepest and most ancient layers of exposed bedrock.

Perseverance is the first step in our Mars Sample Return campaign. Subsequent missions, now in development in cooperation with ESA (the European Space Agency), would send spacecraft to Mars to collect these sealed samples from the surface and return them to Earth for in-depth analysis.
This Week in Space
Engineers in United Launch Alliance’s Vertical Integration Facility used large cranes to assemble the stages of the company’s Atlas V rocket, in preparation for Boeing’s Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) launch to the International Space Station.
Countdown to Launch – We’re inviting social media users to register for a global virtual NASA Social for Boeing’s Orbital Flight Test-2. This is the second uncrewed flight test of the Starliner spacecraft, targeted for July 30. Seize the opportunity to blog, tweet, Instagram or simply share everything about the mission!
The SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour is pictured during its approach to the International Space Station.
Humans in Space – This week, SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Endeavour, with four Crew-2 astronauts aboard, undocked from the forward-facing port of the International Space Station’s Harmony module. It relocated to the module's space-facing port, making room for the arrival of Boeing’s Starliner.
Astronaut John H. Glenn, Jr., in his Mercury flight suit.
A Tribute to an American Legend – As a founding member of our human spaceflight program, former NASA astronaut John Glenn propelled humanity into the stars. Now, 100 years after his birth, we invite you to explore his life and legacy through photos in a special feature.
A river snakes its way through the Amazon rain forest in Peru.
In this illustration a vertical solar array is being used as a power source on the surface of the Moon.
Monitoring Earth’s Vital Signs – In a new, first-of-its-kind study, scientists found that tropical forests’ ability to absorb carbon dioxide is waning due to large-scale deforestation, habitat degradation, and climate change effects.
Next-Generation Solar Power – A design for high-efficiency, deployable solar arrays is now being used by industry to power telecommunications satellites. This technology could one day power surface operations on the Moon and Mars.
People Profile
Jie Gong
Meet Jie Gong, a research atmospheric scientist at our Goddard Space Flight Center.

As an atmospheric scientist, Jie Gong explores ice clouds and other frozen precipitation like snow, floating snow (which is snow in the atmosphere that does not hit the ground) and graupel, or hail. "I work on developing methods to best use satellite data to understand the microphysics of all frozen water particles in the atmosphere called frozen hydrometers."
Image Spotlight
This image is of lunar sample #10020, one of many brought back for research.
On July 20, 1969, Commander Neil Armstrong and lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to set foot on another celestial body when they landed on Earth's only natural satellite. This image is of lunar sample #10020, one of many brought back for research.

Image Credit: NASA
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