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Perseverance rover takes its 6th-ever selfie on Mars

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May 14, 2026

A complicated wheeled vehicle with a camera up on an arm, near a pile of boulders. — This is the 6th-ever selfie from the Mars Perseverance rover. Scientists assembled the selfie from 61 images the rover took on March 11, 2026. NASA released the new selfie on May 12. Image via NASA/ JPL-Caltech/ MSSS.

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Perseverance rover takes its 6th-ever selfie on Mars

The Mars Perseverance rover has been exploring the red planet since its arrival in 2021. And on May 12, 2026, NASA released the 6th-ever selfie from Perseverance. In the image, it’s sitting atop a rocky outcrop nicknamed Arethusa. The sandy hills that mark the western rim of Jezero Crater stretch behind the rover.

This animated selfie consists of 61 separate images stitched together from March 11, 2026. Look closely at the rock below and you’ll see a circular white patch, where Perseverance had just sampled the interior. The igneous minerals it found are likely older than Jezero Crater itself.

Katie Stack Morgan is a Perseverance project scientist at NASA. She said:

We took this image when the rover was in the ‘Wild West’ beyond the Jezero Crater rim, the farthest west we have been since we landed at Jezero a little over five years ago. We had just abraded and analyzed the ‘Arethusa’ outcrop, and the rover was sitting in a spot that provided a great view of both the Jezero Rim and the local terrain outside of the crater.

Plus a view of the area

The panorama below provides a road map for where Perseverance will explore next. Ken Farley, Perseverance’s deputy project scientist at Caltech in Pasadena, explained:

What I see in this image is excellent exposure of likely the oldest rocks we are going to investigate during this mission. There is a sharp ridgeline visible in the mosaic whose jagged, angular texture contrasts starkly with the rounded boulders in the foreground. We also see a feature that may be a volcanic dike, a vertical intrusion of magma that hardened in place and was left standing as the softer surrounding material eroded away over billions of years.

Perseverance first analyzed sedimentary rocks in Jezero Crater. But now it’s moved on to igneous rocks. Stack Morgan said:

The rover’s study of these really ancient rocks is a whole new ballgame. These rocks – especially if they’re from deep in the crust – could give us insights applicable to the entire planet, like whether there was a magma ocean on Mars and what initial conditions eventually made it a habitable planet.

Long narrow panoraman image showing brown and tan rocky landscape under a light sky. — Perseverance took this enhanced-color panorama on April 5, 2026. Now this image will help create a “road map” for Perseverance. Image via NASA/ JPL-Caltech/ ASU/ MSSS.

Did Perseverance discover ancient life on Mars?

Perseverance has made a number of remarkable discoveries as it explores Jezero crater. And that includes what NASA calls a potential biosignature. During a press conference in September 2025, NASA said Perseverance had sampled a rock peppered with black spots that scientists call poppy seeds and lighter spots with dark rims they call leopard spots. NASA said they have “no other good explanation” for what created these spots except biological processes. But the origin of these spots is still unconfirmed.

Closeup of brown rock with small, irregular roundish marks with dark edges and light centers, and also tiny black spots. — View larger/full image. | Perseverance captured this view of *leopard spots* and *poppy seeds* on a Martian rock. Continued analysis of the rover data supports the possibility that the formations involved living microorganisms. It’s a compelling – though still inconclusive – case for ancient life on Mars. Image via NASA/ JPL-Caltech/ MSSS.

Bottom line: The Mars Perseverance rover has snapped a new selfie on the red planet. It has also shared a panorama of the landscape, providing a map of where it will explore next.

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May 14, 2026

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Kelly Kizer Whitt

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About the Author:

Kelly Kizer Whitt - EarthSky’s nature and travel vlogger on YouTube - writes and edits some of the most fascinating stories at EarthSky.org. She's been writing about science, with a focus on astronomy, for decades. She began her career at Astronomy Magazine and made regular contributions to other outlets, including AstronomyToday and the Sierra Club. She has nine published books, including a children's picture book, Solar System Forecast, and a young adult dystopian novel, A Different Sky.