Illustration of Jezero crater, Mars. It has been selected as the landing site for the Perseverance rover because the crater was a lake (grey cirle, centre) over three billion years ago. The wet conditions of the lake and surrounding river delta could have made it habitable for ancient microbial life. The Perseverance rover, part of the Mars 2020 mission, aims to study the geology of Mars and search for signs of life. The rover launched on 30 July 2020 and is scheduled to arrive on 18th February 2021.