While NASA’s Perseverance rover is hard at work exploring Mars hundreds of millions of miles from Earth, a full-scale, lifelike model finds a temporary home at the Exploratorium! Since landing on Mars on Feb. 18, 2021, Perseverance has been hunting for signs of ancient microbial life in order to collect and store samples of Martian rock and sediment to be retrieved by planned future missions for closer study on Earth.\ \ Nearly the size of a car, with its camera “head” rising high, Perseverance’s six-wheeled look-alike towers over most visitors, offering a close up look at this ingenious explorer that is transforming humans’ understanding of Mars. Surrounding the rover is an immersive audio experience, crafted from the rich audio that Perseverance has captured from its two onboard microphones. Be sure to check out the Bechtel Gallery 3 Wattis Studio to dig in deeper to Perseverance, previous rover missions, and visual experiences inspired by space.\ \ Keep an eye out for a collection of out-of-this world programs featuring staff from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory as well as local experts and tinkerers exploring Mars and more.\ \ The Mars Perseverance Model is on loan from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory as part of their Roving with Perseverance tour.