Check out this breathtaking view of Kodiak mesa in Mars' Jezero Crater captured by NASA's Perseverance

NASA's Perseverance Mars rover recently captured a beautiful view of Kodiak mesa, a remnant of Jezero Crater's fan-shaped river delta. The foreground flat-topped hill shows evidence of sedimentary layering and boulders transported by fast-flowing water.

The rover acquired this image using Mastcam-Z, an imaging instrument designed to take high-definition video, panoramic color and 3D images of the Martian surface and features in the atmosphere with a zoom lens to magnify distant targets. Captured on May 31, 2022 (Sol 454), the image was shared by the SETI Institute on Twitter this week.

Launched on February 18, 2021, NASA's Perseverance Mars rover arrived at the doorstep of Jezero Crater's ancient river delta on April 13. The mission's key goal is to look for signs of ancient life and collect samples of rock and regolith (broken rock and soil) for a possible return to Earth.

The Perseverance mission will characterize the planet's geology and past climate, paving the way for human exploration of the Red Planet. It is part of NASA's Moon to Mars exploration approach.