NASA's Perseverance rover has officially set a new driving record on another world, traveling farther across an extraterrestrial surface than any vehicle before it. On October 11, its odometer reached 28.10 miles (45.22 kilometers), surpassing the previous record of 28.06 miles (45.16 kilometers) held by NASA's Opportunity rover, which explored Mars from 2004 to 2018. Even more impressive is how quickly Perseverance accomplished the feat. Opportunity needed nearly 15 years to cover its record distance, while Perseverance did it in just five and a half years.
The milestone came on the rover's 2,006th Martian day, known as a sol. The record was set as Perseverance made its way toward a location called "Idubi," traveling through an area beyond the western rim of Jezero Crater known as "Lac de Charmes." This region contains what may be some of the oldest terrain ever examined in the solar system.
One of the biggest reasons Perseverance has been able to travel so far is its sophisticated autonomous driving system. Known as AutoNav, the technology allows the rover to navigate much of the Martian landscape without waiting for detailed driving instructions from Earth. As Perseverance moves, it continuously captures images of its surroundings, constructs a three-dimensional map of potential obstacles, and selects a safe route between destinations chosen by mission controllers. More than 90% of the distance Perseverance has traveled has involved AutoNav evaluating the terrain. By comparison, the earliest versions of autonomous navigation used by Opportunity and its twin rover, Spirit, were responsible for assessing only about 5% of their driving distances.
"It is an honor to be working on Perseverance at a moment when the technology has evolved to the point that drives like these are routine," said Steven Lee, the project manager of the Curiosity and Perseverance rovers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. "The original mission called for no more than 12.4 miles of driving. We've blown well past that, and with all mobility systems fully operational and favorable extended-ground-life test results, we expect Perseverance to keep adding to this record for many years to come."
The rover's record also extends beyond Mars. Earlier in its journey, Perseverance exceeded the driving distances achieved on the Moon by Apollo 17 astronauts (22.2 miles) and the Soviet Union's Lunokhod 2 rover (24.2 miles).
NASA has already approved Perseverance's first mission extension. Beginning in October, the extended mission will allow the rover to continue investigating the rim of Jezero Crater through approximately the end of 2028.
For NASA, however, setting mileage records is not the primary objective. The rover's ability to travel farther and faster allows scientists to investigate more geological formations and examine a greater variety of rocks. Perseverance has already gathered 29 samples of rock and regolith, and its extended mission aims to explore ancient hydrothermal systems in the crater rim, where heated water once circulated through rocks and may have created conditions suitable for life. At the site "Idubi," scientists hope to uncover evidence of such systems. The rover has also encountered a rock called "Cheyava Falls," where scientists identified a potential biosignature, a feature that could provide evidence of past life, although nonbiological processes can sometimes produce similar clues.
NASA engineers continue to improve Perseverance's navigation capabilities. "The rover that broke this record did so by making its own decisions about the path. Given the autonomy to just go, Perseverance is a better driver than the one that landed, and we're not done," said Mark Maimone, deputy team chief for robotic operations on Perseverance. One challenge is that bright sunlight can interfere with the rover's navigation cameras, making it harder for its software to interpret the terrain. Finding ways to overcome that limitation could allow Perseverance and future Mars rovers to spend more time exploring each day.