Overview of results of the SuperCam Instrument onboard Perseverance

Introduction: The Perseverance rover landed at Jezero crater on February 18^th, 2021. The choice of this landing site for the Mars2020 mission was motivated by its geological significance and the potential insights into Mars’ past habitability and search for past life. Indeed, Jezero crater once contained an ancient lake, with a very well-preserved delta on the Western edge of the crater, making it an ideal location to search for signs of ancient microbial life. The Perseverance rover has four main objectives: 1. Search for traces of past microbial life; 2. Characterize Mars’s climate and geology ;3. Collect samples for later return to Earth; 4. Test technologies for future human exploration missions.

Perseverance is equipped with seven scientific instruments, including the SuperCam suite [1,2]. SuperCam combines several remote-sensing techniques in order to study both the Martian surface and its atmosphere: 1. The LIBS (Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy) technique gives access to the chemical composition of the targets (up to 15m). All major elements are quantified [3] and the quantification of minor elements is ongoing [4]; 2. The Raman spectroscopy enables the identification of major mineral phases [5]; 3. The VISIR spectroscopy gives access to the mineralogy, via the reflection of sunlight to access the frequency of molecule bond vibrations of the targets [6]; 4. The Remote Micro Imager (RMI) uses a CMOS camera, with an angular size of 10 microradians and a resolution of 50 microradians; 5. The microphone records air pressure fluctuations from 20 Hz to 12.5 or 50 kHz, at sampling rates of 25 or 100 KHz, respectively.  SuperCam performs remote observations around the rover allowing a large number of acquisitions. Indeed, when analyzing a target to get access to its chemistry and/or mineralogy, several point analyses are performed when doing LIBS, Raman and/or VISIR, in order to assess its homogeneity. Moreover, the atmospheric studies require recurrent observations, either at similar times (passive measurements) or at different times of the day (microphone) to investigate potential seasonal effects or atmospheric processes.

As of sol 1843, Perseverance has driven more than 43 km, has exited the crater and is now exploring the Lac De Charmes area, which is located on the outer rim of the Jezero crater.

SuperCam efforts: SuperCam addresses all the main objectives of the Mars2020 mission.

Geological context and astrobiological interest During the crater floor campaign, two units were investigated: Máaz and Séítah [7]. Both units correspond to igneous material, with successive lava flows at Máaz [8] while Séítah represents an olivine-rich cumulate [9]. The delta front campaign revealed a diversity of secondary material, suggesting either different sources or different paleo-environments [10]. In situ investigation of the delta revealed the lake level fluctuations along with the investigation of the fluvial deposits including flood deposits [11]. Still on the delta top, several olivine-rich boulders have been hypothesized to be potential mantle rocks excavated by successive impacts [12]. Perseverance was able to confirm the enrichment in carbonates in the Margin Unit (intimately mixed with olivine), even though the origin of these rocks is still debated. Nevertheless, we have been able to constrain the formation process of the carbonates constituting an important part of these rocks [13]. SuperCam observations at Neretva Vallis have helped constraining the different environments where the potential biosignatures that have been detected [14-16]. SuperCam has also been used to investigate the stability of hydrated minerals freshly exposed at the surface in abraded targets [17].

Since 2025, Perseverance has started to climb the Jezero crater rim, where a diversity of rocks has been observed [18,19]. Some of them were float rocks but revealed an ancient hydrothermal system thanks to the observations of more or less crystallized hydrated Si phases [20], whereas other float rocks suggested magmatic or metamorphic processes, thanks to the detection of corundum in plagioclase, with the SuperCam time-resolved luminescence capability [21].  The crater rim gives access to the oldest terrains never explored in situ before. Some of them suggest that Mars underwent important serpentinization process early in Mars history, with important implications concerning the crust [22]. SuperCam is therefore of prime importance to help in the selection process of the samples for planned Mars sample return [23].

Atmospheric science. The SuperCam microphone has, for the first time, revealed the acoustic landscape of Mars [24] and shed light on the unique sound propagation properties in a thin CO₂ atmosphere [25] Above all, it provides a particularly effective dataset for studying rapid atmospheric fluctuations, specifically the characterization of the thermal turbulence field through the propagation of acoustic wave in inhomogeneous medium [26] and the properties of the dissipative regime [27] in which molecular viscosity dissipates the turbulent kinetic energy into heat. The microphone also revealed the presence of triboelectric discharges in dust devils and dust storms, with important implications for the surface and atmospheric chemistry (e.g., for the oxidants production). Passive sky observations are used to investigate the variability of molecular oxygen in the Martian atmosphere [28], as well as the physical properties of the dust and water ice aerosols [29]. Atmospheric observations have also contributed to the discovery of a Martian aurora from the SuperCam and MastCam-Z instruments [30].

[1] Maurice et al., (2021) [2] Wiens et al., (2021) [3] Anderson et al., (2022) [4] Gabriel et al., (2024) [5] Lopez-Reyes et al., (2025) [6] Fouchet et al.,  (2022) [7] Wiens et al.,  (2022) [8] Udry et al.,  (2022) [9] Beyssac et al.,  (2023) [10] Dehouck et al., (2024) [11] Mangold et al.,  (2024) [12] Beyssac et al.,(2026) [13] Clavé et al., (2026) [14] Hurowitz et al.,  (2025) [15] Mandon et al., this meeting [16] Manelski et al., (2026) [17] Connell et al.,  (2025) [18] Quantin-Natf et al.,  (2026) [19] Bedford et al., (2026) [20] Beck et al.,  (2025) [21] Ollila et al., (2026) [22] Quantin-Nataf et al,  (2025) [23] Siljeström et al., this meeting [24] Maurice et al (2022) [25] Chide et al., EPSL (2023) [26] Chide et al., (2023) [27] Stott et al., (2026) [28] McConnochie et al., this meeting [29] Stcherbinine et al., this meeting [30] Knutsen et al. (2025).