Perseverance sets Mars driving record with 45.22 kilometres travelled
NASA’s Perseverance rover has set a record for the longest distance travelled by a vehicle on another world, covering 28.10 miles (45.22 km) on Mars by 11 October. It has narrowly surpassed NASA’s Opportunity rover, which travelled 28.06 miles, reaching the mark in about five and a half years rather than nearly 15.
Perseverance achieved the milestone on its way to the Idubi region, where it will study the ancient terrain around Lac de Charmes for possible traces of hydrothermal systems. Its autonomous navigation system has handled more than 90 per cent of its driving, and a recent software update is designed to reduce wear. Curiosity remains active on Mars and has travelled 38.15 kilometres, while Apollo 17 holds the distance record among the cited crewed lunar rovers at 35.74 kilometres.
- Perseverance has travelled 28.10 miles on Mars.
- It beat Opportunity’s record by 0.04 miles.
- The rover is heading to study ancient terrain for signs of hydrothermal systems.
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Perseverance is a NASA rover, a six-wheeled robot about the size of a car, that arrived on Mars in 2021. It is controlled by scientists on Earth but also navigates itself using onboard computers. The rover was sent to search for signs of ancient microbial life that may have existed when Mars contained water.
The distance a rover travels is a key measure of how well the technology is performing and how much of the planet can be explored. Another NASA rover called Opportunity previously held the record for the longest distance travelled by any vehicle on another world, having operated for about fifteen years before contact was lost.
Travelling long distances across Mars is challenging because of the planet's extreme environment of intense cold, dust storms, and radiation. The longer rovers operate and travel, the more scientific data they gather about Mars and help us understand the planet's past.
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Originally published by Engadget as “NASA’s Perseverance rover breaks record for off-world driving distance”.