Where is Perseverance right now?

Perseverance is exploring Jezero Crater on Mars, a 45-kilometre-wide impact crater that once held an ancient lake and river delta. Its exact current coordinates and total distance driven update automatically at the top of this page, sourced from NASA's own published rover telemetry.

Is Perseverance still operating?

Yes. Perseverance remains an active NASA mission, continuing to explore Jezero Crater, analyse rock samples, and characterize the region's geology and climate history.

What happens to the rock samples Perseverance collects?

Perseverance seals selected rock and regolith cores in tubes and deposits them on the Martian surface as part of a sample cache, intended for eventual pickup and return to Earth by a future mission.

Where Is Perseverance Now? Live Position, Distance Driven & Mission Status

Q: How far has Perseverance traveled on Mars?

Perseverance's total driving distance increases as the mission continues. The live figure at the top of this page is pulled directly from NASA's official rover waypoint data and updates automatically as new drives are logged.

Q: What happened to the Ingenuity helicopter?

Ingenuity, the technology demonstration helicopter that flew alongside Perseverance, completed its mission on January 25, 2024, after 72 flights, when its rotor blades were damaged during a hard landing. It remains upright at a site nicknamed Valinor Hills and is no longer capable of flight.

NASA's Perseverance rover has been exploring Jezero Crater on Mars since February 2021, searching for signs of ancient microbial life, characterizing the region's geology and climate history, and collecting rock samples for a future return to Earth. It is the largest and most advanced rover NASA has ever sent to another planet.

This page tracks Perseverance's real position and distance driven using NASA's own published telemetry — the same data rendered live on SatFleet Live's interactive Mars map, alongside the rover's complete real driving trail.

Jezero Crater on Mars, landing site of NASA's Perseverance rover — Jezero Crater, Perseverance's landing site and an ancient river delta and lakebed. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech.

Quick Facts

Mission name	Mars 2020
Agency	NASA / Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
Launch	July 30, 2020, from Cape Canaveral Space Launch Complex 41
Landing	February 18, 2021, Jezero Crater, Mars
Landing site	18.4447°N, 77.4508°E — Jezero Crater, an ancient river delta and lakebed
Dimensions	Approx. 3 m long, 2.7 m wide, 2.2 m tall
Power source	Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (MMRTG)
Mission status	Active, ongoing surface operations
Companion aircraft	Ingenuity Mars Helicopter (mission concluded January 2024)

How This Live Data Works

The figures at the top of this page are not estimated or simulated. NASA publishes Perseverance's driving telemetry directly — including its position and cumulative distance driven — and SatFleet Live reads this data automatically to keep both this page and the interactive Mars map up to date. There is no manual updating involved; as the rover drives, the numbers here update to match.

On the Mars map, this same data is rendered as a real driving trail overlaid on true Mars surface imagery, alongside Curiosity, active orbiters, and the planet's moons, Phobos and Deimos.

Mission Objectives

Perseverance's mission is built around four primary goals. The first is astrobiology: searching for preserved signs of ancient microbial life in rock formed in environments that may once have been habitable. Jezero Crater was selected specifically for this purpose — orbital data showed clear evidence of ancient water activity and a well-preserved river delta.

The second is geology: characterizing the rock record left behind at the landing site to understand the region's history. The third is studying past climate, reconstructing what Mars' environment and habitability looked like billions of years ago.

The fourth objective is unique to this mission: Perseverance is the first spacecraft to collect and cache Martian rock and regolith samples, sealing them in tubes and depositing them on the surface for potential retrieval by a future mission that would return them to Earth for detailed laboratory analysis — something no orbiter or rover instrument can replicate remotely.

Perseverance also tests technology for future human exploration of Mars, including in-situ resource utilization — demonstrated through its now-complete MOXIE experiment, which produced oxygen from the Martian atmosphere.

The Seven Science Instruments

Mastcam-Z

Zoomable, stereoscopic panoramic camera system used for imaging, mineralogy, and rover navigation support.

SuperCam

Remote imaging, chemical composition analysis, and mineralogy — capable of detecting organic compounds from a distance using laser spectroscopy.

PIXL

Planetary Instrument for X-ray Lithochemistry — an X-ray spectrometer mounted on the robotic arm that identifies fine-scale chemical composition.

SHERLOC

The first UV Raman spectrometer sent to the Martian surface, searching for organics and minerals altered by ancient water, paired with the WATSON close-up camera.

MOXIE

Mars Oxygen ISRU Experiment — successfully demonstrated producing oxygen from Martian atmospheric carbon dioxide.

MEDA

Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer — monitors weather, dust, and atmospheric conditions around the rover.

RIMFAX

Ground-penetrating radar that images subsurface geological structures beneath the rover as it drives.

PIXL instrument on Perseverance's robotic arm analyzing a Martian rock target — PIXL, mounted on Perseverance's robotic arm, identifies fine-scale chemical composition in Martian rock. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech.

Ingenuity: The First Aircraft on Another World

Perseverance carried the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, a technology demonstration originally designed for just five experimental flights over 30 days. In April 2021, Ingenuity achieved the first powered, controlled flight by an aircraft on another planet — a milestone comparable to the Wright brothers' first flight on Earth.

Ingenuity vastly exceeded expectations, going on to complete 72 flights over nearly three years, covering roughly 17 kilometres and serving as an aerial scout for the Perseverance team. Its mission concluded on January 25, 2024, after its final flight resulted in rotor blade damage during a hard landing. The helicopter remains upright at a site nicknamed Valinor Hills in Jezero Crater's Neretva Vallis.

NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, the first aircraft to fly on another planet — Ingenuity, the Mars Helicopter, achieved the first powered flight on another planet in April 2021. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech.

Mission Timeline

Jul 30, 2020Launch from Cape Canaveral Space Launch Complex 41.
Feb 18, 2021Landing in Jezero Crater, using the same entry, descent, and landing sequence pioneered by Curiosity.
Apr 19, 2021Ingenuity completes the first powered, controlled flight on another planet.
2022–2023Perseverance explores and climbs the ancient river delta inside Jezero Crater, collecting a series of rock core samples along the way.
Jan 25, 2024Ingenuity's mission concludes after 72 flights, following rotor damage on its final landing.
2024–2025Perseverance ascends and explores the western rim of Jezero Crater.
Feb 2026NASA activates Mars Global Localization, letting Perseverance determine its own precise position on Mars autonomously, without waiting for instructions from Earth.

Frequently Asked Questions

Perseverance is exploring Jezero Crater on Mars. Its exact current coordinates and total distance driven update automatically at the top of this page, sourced from NASA's own published rover telemetry.

The live distance figure at the top of this page is pulled directly from NASA's official rover waypoint data and updates automatically as new drives are logged.

Yes. Perseverance remains an active NASA mission, continuing to explore Jezero Crater and analyse rock samples.

Ingenuity completed its mission on January 25, 2024, after 72 flights, when its rotor blades were damaged during a hard landing. It remains upright at a site nicknamed Valinor Hills and is no longer capable of flight.

SatFleet Live reads NASA's own published rover waypoint telemetry and renders it on an interactive 3D Mars globe, including the rover's real driving trail.

Perseverance seals selected rock and regolith cores in tubes and deposits them on the Martian surface as a cache, intended for eventual pickup and return to Earth by a future mission.

Sources

Mars 2020 Mission Overviewmars.nasa.gov
Mission Science Objectivesmars.nasa.gov
Perseverance Science Instrumentsmars.nasa.gov
Ingenuity Mission Endsjpl.nasa.gov
Mars Global Localizationjpl.nasa.gov
Perseverance Rover Location Mapscience.nasa.gov

Explore More

See Perseverance moving live

Watch its real driving trail on an interactive 3D Mars globe, alongside Curiosity and active orbiters.

Open the Mars Tracker