NASA's Perseverance Rover Sets Off-World Driving Record at 28.10 Miles

Perseverance Passes Opportunity's Mark

NASA's Perseverance rover has broken the record for the farthest distance traveled by any vehicle on another world, the space agency announced. As of October 11th, the six-wheeled, nuclear-powered rover has covered 28.10 miles (45.22 km) on Mars, edging past the 28.06 miles (45.16 km) logged by NASA's Opportunity rover.

Perseverance reached the milestone in just five and a half years, compared to nearly 15 years for Opportunity. The 2,260 pound rover had previously crossed the marathon mark of 26.2 miles. Its top speed is only 0.1 mph, and it has had to cross challenging terrain to get this far.

Heading for Ancient Terrain

The rover attained the record while traveling to a region called Idubi, where it will investigate a feature called "Lac de Charmes" with some of the oldest terrain ever explored in the solar system. According to NASA, the rocks and terrain there are so ancient that their Earthly equivalents have long since been erased by erosion and plate tectonics, which Mars lacks. The science team hopes to find traces of ancient hydrothermal systems at the site.

Autonomous Driving Keeps It Rolling

Perseverance's longevity is credited in part to its autonomous AutoNav system, which lets the rover image terrain and spot hazards in real time while driving between waypoints chosen by its planners. By processing 600,000 measurement points with each glance, the rover has covered more than 90 percent of its total distance autonomously.

A recent software update allows Perseverance to roll more and steer less, reducing wear on parts, while checking its own position against orbital maps mid-drive. The team next wants to fix camera glare from sunlight that limits the rover's vision so it can work longer days.

Where the Other Rovers Stand

Perseverance may have out-driven Opportunity, but the Curiosity rover is still exploring Mars and has traveled 38.15 km (23.7 miles) to date. The next most traveled US vehicles are the manned rovers from the Apollo missions, with the Apollo 17 rover going the farthest at 35.74 km (22.21 miles).

Sources: Engadget