NASA's Perseverance rover has captured a 360-degree mosaic of a rugged area on the rim of Jezero Crater on Mars, known as 'Crocodile Bridge,' revealing ancient terrain dating to the early solar system. The panorama, made from 980 images collected between December 2025 and January 2026 using the Mastcam-Z camera system, provides high-resolution detail of rock-strewn plains, ridges and distant hills, with the rover's tracks visible across the surface. Scientists say the region contains some of the oldest preserved crustal material on Mars, offering critical clues about the planet's formation, atmosphere and past water activity.

The Mastcam-Z system, led by Arizona State University in collaboration with Malin Space Science Systems and the Niels Bohr Institute, captured natural-color, enhanced-color and 3D anaglyph versions of the panorama to highlight geological features and elevation changes. The images were processed to simulate human vision under Martian lighting conditions, enabling researchers to study rock layers, mineral variations and surface textures. The data will help guide Perseverance's upcoming exploration targets, particularly within the transition zone leading to the Lac de Charmes region.

Jezero Crater was selected as Perseverance's landing site due to evidence of a former lake and river delta, environments that could have supported microbial life. The rover's mission, managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, includes collecting rock and regolith samples for future return to Earth. The Crocodile Bridge region, while not officially named by NASA, is an informal designation used by the rover team to identify a key geological and navigational waypoint.

Unlike Earth, Mars lacks active plate tectonics, allowing ancient surfaces to remain undisturbed for billions of years. This makes regions like Crocodile Bridge valuable for studying early planetary evolution. The Perseverance mission continues to investigate the environmental history of Mars, with the rover expected to enter the Lac de Charmes area for extended study later this year.

The rover team will use the panorama data to plan upcoming traverses and sampling activities. The court will resume hearing on Tuesday.