Labs on wheels: how rovers study Mars

Mars rovers are not just cameras on wheels. They are compact field laboratories that can see terrain, read minerals, test chemistry, measure the weather, listen to the planet and look beneath the regolith.

First operational rover in Martian history: the soviet PRoP-M Mars rover

Let’s take a closer look to these rovers...

Mars rovers, from first attempt to field lab

Only three countries have successfully landed a rover on Mars. Here is what each sent, how long it lasted, and where it touched down.

Where did they land?

Martian rovers have landed in different regions of the planet, each selected for its scientific value, accessibility, and potential to reveal Mars’ geological history, including the search for signs of ancient life.

Mars Map with the Landing Sites of Operational Rovers

Click the button above to open the short questionnaire about Martian regolith simulant design. Your answers will help identify which properties the community considers most important.

The instruments, grouped by family

Instead of listing each instrument in isolation, we've grouped them by what they do. This way you'll see how the technology improved from mission to mission and why instruments that look similar are often completely different tools.

What comes after today's rovers?

Each rover leaves behind instruments that were impossible until that moment. The next one will make them obsolete, and that is science working perfectly.

The coming years will bring the first return of Martian samples to Earth, with Perseverance acting as the geologist who selected them. And Rosalind Franklin will drill deeper than any instrument has ever reached before.

Help shape the next Martian regolith simulant

Martian regolith is not a single material. Its properties vary depending on mineralogy, grain size, chemistry and geological history. So I would like to ask the community a simple question:

What should matter most when creating a realistic Martian regolith simulant?

We have created a short survey to identify which characteristics should be prioritised in future Martian regolith simulant development. The questionnaire only takes a few minutes, we promise is short!

Press on the image to go to the questionnaire

Whether you work in planetary science, engineering, geology or are simply interested in Mars exploration, your input is really valuable!

In conclusion, every rover makes the next one more demanding. Cameras became laboratories, laboratories became sample selectors, and the next step is to bring Mars back to Earth.