NASA’s Perseverance rover has spent nearly five years roaming the Martian surface in search of clues to ancient life. But the ambitious plan to return its precious rock samples to Earth is now on shaky ground. Scientific American senior desk editor Lee Billings joins us to unpack the rover’s mission, the stakes of the stalled return effort and the effects it will have on the future of Mars exploration.

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<a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/nasa-recruits-mars-perseverance-rover-to-monitor-suns-activity/">NASA Recruits Mars Perseverance Rover to Monitor Sun’s Activity</a>
<a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/is-there-life-on-mars-this-rock-may-hold-the-answer/">This Rock May Hold Proof of Life on Mars</a>

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Science Quickly is produced by Kendra Pierre-Louis, Fonda Mwangi and Jeff DelViscio. This episode was edited by Alex Sugiura, with fact-checking by Shayna Posses and Aaron Shattuck. Our theme music was composed by Dominic Smith. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://megaphone.fm/adchoices">megaphone.fm/adchoices</a>

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