NASA’s Perseverance views dust at Neretva Vallis

NASA’s Perseverance rover presented a 360-degree view of dust at Neretva Vallis within Mars’ Jezero Crater. The announcement described the scene as a wind-swept dusty vista.

The view was stitched together from 217 images acquired by the rover’s Mastcam-Z instrument on May 20, 2024. NASA identified the date as the 1,155th Martian day, or sol, of the mission.

The announcement said Neretva Vallis was home to a river channel that fed fresh water into Jezero Crater billions of years ago. The view shows dust at Neretva Vallis and the surrounding area within Jezero Crater.

NASA presented an enhanced-color version of the view. Its color bands were processed to improve visual contrast and accentuate color differences. The 360-degree image was created from the images acquired by Mastcam-Z.

Arizona State University leads Mastcam-Z operations. It works with Malin Space Science Systems in San Diego on the cameras’ design, fabrication, testing and operation. Arizona State University also collaborates with the Niels Bohr Institute of the University of Copenhagen on the design, fabrication and testing of calibration targets.

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory built Perseverance and manages its operations. The laboratory is managed for the agency by Caltech. NASA said the rover’s Mastcam-Z instrument recorded the images used for the view of Neretva Vallis. The announcement was published Monday 26 October 2026.