Illustration of the Mars 2020 mission Perseverance rover and Ingenuity helicopter on the surface of Mars. The Mars 2020 mission, part of NASA's Mars Exploration Program, launched on 30th July 2020. It will land on Mars on 18th February 2021. Ingenuity is a technology demonstration to test the first powered flight on Mars. Perseverance will search for habitable conditions in the ancient past and signs of past microbial life on Mars.