In February 2021, the NASA Perseverance Rover landed on the surface of Mars. Its goal is to explore the delta deposits located at the bottom of the Jezero crater and to select a suite of samples of astrobiological interest to be brought back to Earth. A backup set of 10 samples collected in sealed titanium tubes has been placed at the bottom of Jezero crater for a possible future return to Earth.

The analysis of these samples in the laboratory will help determine if life ever existed on the surface of Mars. To help select the best samples, a laser instrument built in France and the US is integrated at the top of the rover’s mast: SuperCam (IRAP-CNES-LANL-Purdue and partners). It can analyze the composition of rocks at a distance, can provide mineralogical data with Raman and infrared spectroscopy, high resolution context color images, and is even equipped with a microphone.

For the past 2 years, it has been measuring the composition and mineralogy of rocks along the rover’s traverse. We will describe the principle of the instrument, the results obtained so far and the future prospects for Mars exploration.