NASA's Perseverance Rover, the most advanced astrobiology laboratory ever sent to another planet, touched down safely on the surface of Mars yesterday. The journey has been a long one since the mission launched in July 2020, covering some 293 million miles. The six-wheeled rover landed inside the Jerezo Crater which is thought to have been a huge lake billions of years ago. Using a suite of scientific instruments, Perseverance will examine different types of rocks such as clays and carbonates to determine whether they contain traces of ancient microbial life. The rover is also carrying a helicopter drone named Ingenuity which is set to attempt the first powered flight on another planet.
Exploring the Red Planet is a costly undertaking with all previous missions costing billions of dollars. Perseverance is no different and NASA expects to spend $2.7 billion over the project's life-cycle, according to research by The Planetary Society. The bulk of that funding was put into design and construction of the spacecraft itself which cost $2.2 billion. Launch services for the Atlas V rocket cost $243 million while the two years of prime mission operations are expected to work out at a further $300 million. So how does that total compare with previous missions to Mars?
When inflation adjustments are included for the entire duration of the Perseverance mission, the cost of the project increases slightly to $2.9 billion. Despite that hefty price tag, it remains only the 7th most expensive spacecraft in the history of NASA's planetary exploration program. Compared to other Mars missions, Perseverance had the third highest cost behind Viking 1 and 2 as well as the Curiosity rover. The latter experienced considerable cost growth after missing its original launch window and its inflation-adjusted cost comes to $3.2 billion. All four Mars projects are among the most expensive missions ever undertaken by NASA.
*Click below to enlarge (charted by Statista)