NASA’s Perseverance Rover Snaps Selfie in Mars’ Western Frontier - UNIVERSE

NASA’s Perseverance looks down at a rocky outcrop nicknamed “Arathusa” and then appears to look into the camera in this animated selfie, which is composed of 61 images taken March 11, 2026, during the rover’s deepest push west beyond Jezero Crater.

NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

Editor’s note: The text was updated on March 13, 2026, to correct the spelling of the outcrop nicknamed “Arathusa.”

NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover recently took a self-portrait against a sweeping backdrop of ancient Martian terrain at a location the science team calls “Lac de Charmes.” Assembled from 61 individual images, the selfie shows Perseverance training its mast on a rocky outcrop on which it had just made a circular abrasion patch, with the western rim of Jezero Crater stretching into the background. The selfie was captured on March 11, the 1,797th Martian day, or sol, of the mission, during the rover’s deepest push west beyond the crater.  

Perseverance is in its fifth science campaign, known as the Northern Rim Campaign, of its mission on the Red Planet. The Lac de Charmes region represents some of the most scientifically compelling terrain the rover has visited.

NASA’s Perseverance captured this enhanced-color panorama of an area nicknamed “Arbot” on April 5, the 1,882nd Martian day, or sol, of the mission. Made of 46 images, the panorama offers one of the richest geological vistas of the rover’s mission, revealing a windswept landscape of diverse rock textures.

NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS

“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,” said Katie Stack Morgan, Perseverance’s project scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. “We had just abraded and analyzed the ‘Arathusa’ 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.” 

During abrading, the rover grinds down a portion of the rock’s surface, allowing the science team to analyze what’s inside. The technique enabled the team to determine that the Arathusa outcrop is composed of igneous minerals that likely predate the formation of Jezero Crater. Igneous rocks with large mineral crystals form underground as molten rock cools and solidifies. Perseverance acquired the selfie — its sixth since landing on Mars in 2021 — using the WATSON (Wide Angle Topographic Sensor for Operations and eNgineering) camera mounted at the end of its robotic arm, which made 62 precision movements over approximately one hour to build the composite image (learn more about how selfies are made).

Significant science

Along with the selfie, Perseverance used Mastcam-Z, located on its mast, to capture a mosaic of the “Arbot” area in Lac de Charmes on April 5, or Sol 1882. Made of 46 images, the panorama offers one of the richest geological vistas of the mission, revealing a windswept landscape of diverse rock textures.  

The image provides the team a clear road map for investigating the ridgeline and the area’s ancient rock variety, including what appear to be megabreccia — large fragments (some the size of skyscrapers) hurled by a massive meteorite impact that occurred on the plain called Isidis Planitia about 3.9 billion years ago. 

“What I see in this image is excellent exposure of likely the oldest rocks we are going to investigate during this mission,” said Ken Farley, Perseverance’s deputy project scientist at Caltech in Pasadena. “There is a sharp ridgeline visible in the mosaic whose jagged, angular texture contrasts starkly with the rounded boulders in the foreground. We also see a feature that may be a volcanic dike, a vertical intrusion of magma that hardened in place and was left standing as the softer surrounding material eroded away over billions of years.”  

The rock color in the mosaic offers less information to the science team than the distinctive textures, which help them differentiate the rock types. Unlike Jezero Crater’s river delta, which is composed of sedimentary rock, some rocks here appear to be extrusive igneous rocks (molten rock that reached the surface as lava flows) and impactites (rocks created or modified by a meteorite impact) believed to have formed before the crater about 4 billion years ago, offering a window into the planet’s deep early crust. 

New ballgame, near-marathon distance

“The rover’s study of these really ancient rocks is a whole new ballgame,” said Stack Morgan. “These rocks — especially if they’re from deep in the crust — could give us insights applicable to the entire planet, like whether there was a magma ocean on Mars and what initial conditions eventually made it a habitable planet.” 

After studying Arathusa, Perseverance drove northwest to the Arbot area, where it has been analyzing other rocky outcrops. When the team is satisfied with the work accomplished there, the rover will drive south to “Gardevarri,” a site with a notably clear exposure of olivine-bearing rocks. Formed in cooling magma, these types of rocks contain information that can help scientists better understand Mars’ volcanic history and provide context for large-scale geological processes. From there, the rover is expected to head southeast toward a region the team is calling “Singing Canyon” for more insights into the planet’s early crust.  

After more than five years of surface operations, Perseverance has abraded 62 rocks, collected 27 rock cores in its sample tubes (25 sealed, 2 unsealed), and traveled almost 26 miles (42 kilometers) — in other words, just shy of a marathon (26.2 miles, or 42.195 kilometers).  

“Having the benefit of four previous rover missions, the Perseverance team has always known our mission was a marathon and not a sprint,” said acting Perseverance project manager Steve Lee at JPL. “We’ve almost reached marathon distance. Our selfie may show that the rover is a bit dusty, but its beauty is more than skin deep. Perseverance is in great shape as we continue our explorations and extend into ultramarathon drive distances.” 

Source: NASA’s Perseverance Rover Snaps Selfie in Mars’ Western Frontier  - NASA 

Scientists develop near-invisible solar cells that could turn windows into power generators - Energy & Green Tech - Hi Tech & Innovation

NTU Assoc Prof Annalisa Bruno seeing through the ultrathin perovskite solar cell which is just 10 nanometers. Credit: Nanyang Technological University

Imagine a car whose windows and sunroof can help top up its battery while parked under the sun, or a pair of smart glasses whose lenses can harvest light to power built-in electronics.

Such applications could become more feasible with a new type of ultrathin transparent solar cell developed by scientists from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore).

Led by Associate Professor Annalisa Bruno, the NTU researchers created perovskite solar cells that are about 10,000 times thinner than a strand of human hair and around 50 times thinner than conventional perovskite solar cells.

Despite their thinness, the devices achieved some of the highest power conversion efficiencies reported for ultrathin perovskite solar cells to date.

Published in the journal ACS Energy Letters, their findings could pave the way for solar cells that can be integrated into buildings, vehicles and wearable devices without significantly changing their appearance.

Because the new solar cells are semi-transparent and color-neutral, they could potentially be incorporated into windows and façades without significantly changing how a building looks.

NTU research fellow Dr Daniela De Luca examining a prototype ultrathin perovskite solar cell in the vacuum chamber in the lab. Credit: Nanyang Technological University

"The built environment accounts for roughly 40% of global energy consumption, so technologies that seamlessly convert buildings' surfaces into power-generating assets are gaining urgency," said Assoc Prof Bruno, who is from NTU's School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences and School of Materials Science and Engineering.

"Our perovskite solar cells offer distinct advantages as they can be manufactured using simple processes at relatively low temperatures. They can also be tuned to absorb specific wavelengths while remaining transparent, and could potentially be scaled over large areas, reducing their carbon footprint," added Prof Bruno, who is also Cluster Director, Renewables & Low-Carbon Solutions and Energy Storage, Energy Research Institute at NTU.

Unlike conventional silicon solar cells, these perovskite-based devices are capable of generating electricity even under indirect sunlight and diffuse light conditions. This makes it particularly suited for Singapore's urban environment, where vertical building surfaces and frequent cloud cover often limit direct solar exposure.

As an example, if the technology were scaled up while maintaining similar performance, large glass façades could be transformed into active surfaces for solar power generation.

Preliminary estimates suggest that a deployment across a major glass-fronted building, such as an office tower at Raffles Place or Marina Bay, could theoretically generate several hundred megawatt-hours of electricity annually.

Depending on the usable glass area and building orientation, this level of energy generation would be equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of about 100 four-room HDB flats.

Manufacturing near-invisible solar cells

Perovskite solar cells are made up of several layers, including a semiconductor layer that absorbs sunlight and converts it into electricity.

To make the ultrathin cells, the NTU team used an industrially compatible method known as thermal evaporation. In this process, source materials are heated in a vacuum chamber until they evaporate. The vapor then settles on a surface, where it forms a thin film.

The method allows very thin and uniform perovskite layers to be deposited over large areas. It also avoids the use of toxic solvents and helps reduce defects in the solar cells, improving their ability to convert light into electricity.

By adjusting the process, the researchers were able to control the thickness of the perovskite layer and create both opaque and semi-transparent devices.

The team believes this is the first time ultrathin perovskite solar cells have been made entirely using vacuum-based processes. This could make the technology more suitable for large-scale industrial production in the future.

Using the technique, the researchers produced ultrathin perovskite absorber layers down to 10 nanometers while retaining useful solar-cell performance.

In opaque devices, the cells achieved power conversion efficiencies of about 7%, 11% and 12% for perovskite layers measuring 10, 30 and 60 nanometers respectively.

A semi-transparent cell with a 60-nanometer-thin perovskite layer allowed about 41% of visible light to pass through, while converting sunlight into electricity at 7.6% efficiency.

The researchers said this is among the best reported performances for semi-transparent perovskite solar cells made with similar materials.

This will allow daylight to pass through while still generating a useful amount of electricity, which is important for applications such as solar windows, glass façades and tinted building surfaces.

First author of the paper, Dr. Luke White, a former Ph.D. student at the Energy Research Institute at NTU, the School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, and the School of Materials Science and Engineering, said, "By precisely controlling thermal evaporation, we are able to adjust the transparency of the solar cells. This opens up new possibilities for sustainable architecture, such as tinted windows that generate electricity."

Giving an independent comment, Professor Sam Stranks, Professor of Energy Materials and Optoelectronics, Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Cambridge, said, "This approach offers a high level of control over film thickness and uniformity, which will be needed if semi-transparent solar cells are to move towards larger-area applications."

"Semi-transparent perovskite solar cells are an exciting route to harvesting energy from surfaces that are difficult to use with conventional silicon panels, such as windows, façades and lightweight electronics.

"The results reported here show a promising balance between transparency and power generation in very thin devices, while the next critical tests will be long-term stability, durability and performance over larger areas."

Powering sustainable cities

Prof Bruno is a pioneer in the field of perovskite solar cells. Her earlier work on thermally evaporated perovskite solar cells has been scaled up, advancing the field of perovskite solar cells and paving the way for industry adoption.

Her innovations are supported by the NTU Innovation and Entrepreneurship initiative, which helps research teams accelerate and translate promising ideas from laboratories to commercialization.

A patent for the development of the ultrathin perovskite films in a novel structure has been filed through NTUitive, the University's innovation and enterprise company.

The researchers are now in talks with companies to validate and standardize the thermal evaporation process used in this study. They will also work to improve the long-term stability, durability and large-area performance of the perovskite solar cells before they can be commercially deployed.

As cities become denser and electricity demand grows, buildings are increasingly being seen not just as energy consumers, but as potential sources of clean energy.

Solar panels are already widely used on rooftops. But the vertical surfaces of buildings, including windows and glass façades, remain largely untapped.

Their breakthrough marks an important step towards transparent solar cells that can be integrated into everyday surfaces, from building windows to vehicles and wearable electronics, helping cities generate more clean energy without requiring additional land. 

Provided by Nanyang Technological University 

by Nanyang Technological University

edited by Sadie Harley, reviewed by Robert Egan 

Source: Scientists develop near-invisible solar cells that could turn windows into power generators