HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) – A model of the Mars rover Perseverance, Ingenuity Helicopter, and the Mars Ascent Vehicle have landed in Huntsville.

Members of the 2020 Perseverance mission team are arriving at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center (USSRC) on Saturday, ready to share the rover’s out-of-this-world history with the public.

“We’re excited to be telling the story of current Mars exploration and looking to the future with our Mars sample return campaign,” said Mars Program Public Engagement Specialist Sarah Marcotte.

Perseverance and Ingenuity have both been on Mars since 2021, but their likenesses have been captured by the full-scale models on display at the USSRC.

Visitors to the exhibit may learn about the rover’s mission: collecting rock samples and searching for signs of ancient life on the Red Planet. Both the rover and Ingenuity Helicopter are marking huge steps forward in the world of space exploration.

“We were able to take this helicopter from being a technology demonstration, ‘can we fly on Mars?’ and now it’s become a scout for Perseverance,” Marcotte said.

The Mars mission continues. In 2028, NASA plans to send the Mars Ascent Vehicle, carried by a lander, to meet the rover.

“Perseverance has already collected over twenty rock cores, rock samples,” said Marcotte. “Those are going to be placed in that Mars Ascent Vehicle and lifted off the surface of Mars.”

Marshall Space Flight Center located on Redstone Arsenal has designed, built, and will eventually test the Mars Ascent Vehicle. On Saturday and Sunday, engineers from the program and other NASA representatives will meet with the public at the USSRC to celebrate the opening of the exhibit.

The Rocket Center is the only location in the Southeast to host the roadshow, which includes full-size “twin” models of NASA’s Perseverance rover and the history-making Ingenuity Mars Helicopter. The Rocket Center is the first site in the country to receive an enhanced exhibit that includes a model of the Mars Ascent Vehicle.

At 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, Dr. Stanley Do, a member of the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover Operations Team, will lead a tour of the surface of Mars in the Intuitive Planetarium. Tickets are free and can be reserved here.

The museum’s education team will also have activities for families throughout the weekend.

The USSRC will display the Roving with Perseverance exhibit until the end of February.