NASA's Perseverance Rover Sends Sixth Self-Portrait from Lac de Charmes

On March 11, 2026 (Sol 1797), NASA’s Perseverance rover captured a self-portrait at Lac de Charmes, the farthest west point reached since its 18 February 2021 landing. The released image shows the rover’s mast training on a rocky outcrop after creating a circular abrasion patch, with the western rim of Jezero Crater visible behind.

PetaPixelNASANASA's Mars Perseverance rover sends 'selfie' back to Earth

Perseverance is in its fifth science campaign, the Northern Rim Campaign, and is approaching its 1,800th Martian day. To date the rover has taken six selfies, each built from multiple frames. The westward drive beyond Jezero is the deepest movement since landing.

NASA's Mars Perseverance rover sends 'selfie' back to Earth

The selfie combines 61 separate images taken by the WATSON (Wide Angle Topographic Sensor for Operations and Engineering) camera on the robotic arm. The arm executed 62 precision moves over about one hour to assemble the composite. The rover also used Mastcam-Z to capture a 46-image mosaic of the “Arbot” area on 5 April (Sol 1882).

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Scientists view Lac de Charmes as among the most compelling terrain visited by Perseverance. The area contains ancient rock formations and megabreccia likely ejected by a 3.9-billion-year-old impact on Isidis Planitia. The new image offers clearer guidance for studying the ridgeline and the mission’s oldest accessible rocks.

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NASA said the image shows Perseverance training its mast after abrasion, highlighting Jezero’s rim. Project scientist Katie Stack Morgan said the rover was in the “Wild West” beyond the rim, offering a broad view of the rim and surrounding terrain. Deputy project scientist Ken Farley noted the exposure of likely the oldest rocks the mission will study.

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• “ Assembled from 61 individual images, the selfie shows Perseverance training its mast on a rocky outcrop in the foreground after creating a circular abrasion patch, with the western rim of Jezero Crater stretching into the background.” — NASA, press release

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• “We took this image when the rover was in the ‘Wild West’ beyond the Jezero Crater rim — the farthest west we have been since we landed at Jezero a little over five years ago,” — Katie Stack Morgan, Perseverance project scientist, JPL

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• “We had just abraded and analyzed the ‘Arethusa’ outcrop, and the rover was sitting in a spot that provided a great view of both the Jezero Rim and the local terrain outside of the crater.” — Katie Stack Morgan, project scientist, JPL

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• “What I see in this image is excellent exposure of likely the oldest rocks we are going to investigate during this mission,” — Ken Farley, deputy project scientist, Caltech

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NASA will continue geological imaging of Lac de Charmes, adding Mastcam-Z mosaics and abrasion studies as Perseverance nears its 1,800th sol.

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