robotic exploration
Mars Exploration Program
NASA's program dedicated to robotic exploration of Mars to investigate past and present habitability, geology, and climate, while preparing for future human exploration.
Overview
Overview
The Mars Exploration Program (MEP) is NASA's central initiative for investigating the Red Planet. For over 60 years, the agency has sought to answer the fundamental question of whether Mars was or is a habitable world. The program synthesizes a wide range of scientific inputs into clear strategic objectives, highlighting areas of high value for scientific discovery and their contribution to future human exploration.
Objectives and Strategy
The MEP focuses on three strategic pillars for the next two decades: exploring for potential life, understanding Mars' geology and climate, and preparing for human exploration. The program strategically invests in technology development that enables new ways of exploring, from advanced mobility systems to innovative entry, descent, and landing solutions. These technologies benefit not only Mars missions but also lunar and deep space missions.
Missions and Components
The program manages an international fleet of orbiters, landers, and rovers that maintain a continuous flow of scientific information. Key missions include Curiosity (Mars Science Laboratory), which investigates whether Mars was ever habitable to microbial life, and Perseverance (Mars 2020), which collects and caches rock and regolith samples for potential return to Earth. Other critical missions include InSight, which studied Mars' deep interior, and MAVEN, which measures the atmosphere to understand the planet's dramatic climate change. Evidence indicates the program is active and continues to fund technology projects, such as navigation software development for rotorcraft on Mars.
Essential data
- Key fact
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