Editing Exploration of Mars (section)

==Current status==
There are two functional rovers on the surface of Mars, the [[Curiosity (rover)|''Curiosity'']] and [[Perseverance (rover)|''Perseverance'']] rovers, both operated by the American space agency [[NASA]]. ''Perseverance'' was accompanied by the ''[[Ingenuity (helicopter)|Ingenuity]]'' helicopter, which scouted sites for ''Perseverance'' to study before the helicopter's mission ended in 2024.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Loeffler|first=John|date=2021-08-17|title=NASA's Mars helicopter is now scouting new sites for Perseverance rover to study|url=https://www.techradar.com/news/nasas-mars-helicopter-is-now-scouting-new-sites-for-perseverance-rover-to-study|access-date=2021-10-01|website=TechRadar|language=en|archive-date=2021-10-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211001181419/https://www.techradar.com/news/nasas-mars-helicopter-is-now-scouting-new-sites-for-perseverance-rover-to-study|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Zhurong (rover)|''Zhurong'' rover]], part of the ''[[Tianwen-1]]'' mission by the [[China National Space Administration]] (CNSA)<ref>{{Cite web |last=Stein |first=Vicky |date=8 February 2021 |title=Tianwen-1: China's first Mars mission |url=https://www.space.com/tianwen-1.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225191937/https://www.space.com/tianwen-1.html |archive-date=2021-02-25 |access-date=2021-02-24 |website=Space.com |language=en}}</ref><ref name="bbc-tianwen1">{{Cite news|date=2021-05-14|title=China lands its Zhurong rover on Mars|work=[[BBC]]|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-57122914|access-date=2021-05-14|archive-date=2021-05-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210515015422/https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-57122914|url-status=live}}</ref> was active until 20 May 2022 when it went into hibernation due to approaching sandstorms and Martian winter; the rover was expected to wake up from hibernation in December 2022, but as of April 2023 it has not moved and is presumed to be permanently inactive.<ref>{{cite web |author1=Pappas |first=Stephanie |date=27 April 2023 |title=China finally admits its hibernating Mars rover may never wake up |url=https://www.livescience.com/space/space-exploration/china-finally-admits-its-hibernating-mars-rover-may-never-wake-up |access-date=2023-08-29 |website=livescience.com}}</ref>

There are seven orbiters surveying the planet: ''[[2001 Mars Odyssey|Mars Odyssey]]'', ''[[Mars Express]]'', ''[[Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter]]'', [[MAVEN]], the [[Trace Gas Orbiter]], the [[Emirates Mars Mission|Hope Mars Mission]], and the ''[[Tianwen-1]]'' orbiter, which have contributed massive amounts of information about Mars. Thus there are nine total vehicles currently exploring Mars: 2 rovers and 7 orbiters.

Various [[Mars sample return mission]]s are being planned like [[NASA-ESA Mars Sample Return]] that will pick up the samples currently being collected by the ''Perseverance'' rover.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://www.space.com/13558-historic-mars-missions.html|title=A Brief History of Mars Missions {{!}} Mars Exploration|website=Space.com|access-date=2016-03-04|archive-date=2019-04-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190411014840/https://www.space.com/13558-historic-mars-missions.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In April 2024, NASA selected several companies to begin studies on providing commercial services to further enable robotic science on Mars.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |title=NASA Selects Commercial Service Studies to Enable Mars Robotic Science |url=https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasa-selects-commercial-service-studies-to-enable-mars-robotic-science |access-date=2024-05-01 |website=NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) |language=en-US}}</ref>