Space.com reports that NASA’s Mars rover passed its smaller cousin Opportunity.
Space.com reports that NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover broke the record for distance driven on a world beyond Earth, passing the smaller Opportunity rover.
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NASA's Perseverance rover became the farthest-driving vehicle on another world on Oct. 11, when its odometer reached 28.10 miles (45.22 kilometers). That edged past the 28.06-mile (45.16-kilometer) mark set by Opportunity, according to NASA's mission update.
Perseverance crossed the record on the 2,006th Martian day, or sol, of its mission. It covered the distance in about five and a half years, compared with almost 15 years for Opportunity. A 299.6-foot (91.31-meter) drive that day pushed Perseverance over the line.
NASA credits much of the rover's progress to AutoNav, its autonomous navigation system. Perseverance photographs the terrain while moving, builds a three-dimensional map of hazards and chooses a course between waypoints selected by rover planners on Earth.
The rover has used AutoNav to evaluate terrain for more than 90% of its total distance. Opportunity and its twin, Spirit, used the first Martian version of the system for about 5% of their driving. NASA says Perseverance processes 600,000 terrain points with each look, compared with 20 for Sojourner, the agency's first Mars rover.
That autonomy lets Perseverance make driving decisions without waiting for step-by-step instructions from Earth. At or near its top speed, it can cover as much as 1,351 feet (412 meters) in one sol. Updated software also helps the rover steer less, roll more and compare its position with orbital maps during a drive.
The record came as Perseverance traveled through Lac de Charmes, beyond the western rim of Jezero Crater, toward an area called Idubi. NASA says some of the terrain there may be among the oldest explored anywhere in the solar system. The science team hopes to find traces of ancient hydrothermal systems that could reveal more about early Mars.
NASA says the rover's mobility systems remain fully operational. The mission's first extension began in October and is expected to continue its exploration of the crater rim through roughly the end of 2028.
Perseverance will eventually head south toward Rainbow Falls, a 328-foot-wide (100-meter-wide) block of ancient crust lifted by the impact that formed Jezero Crater. The rover has already collected 29 rock and regolith samples from the crater floor, a fossilized river delta and the crater rim. Its longer drives are giving the team access to a wider range of rocks and more of Mars' geological history.
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@NASAMarsSetting records is just a bonus. Longer drives are putting more geological diversity within reach faster, taking the rover from an ancient lakebed up a fossilized river system and onto a crater rim, where an entirely different ancient habitat may await. https://go.nasa.gov/4jda0VX@NASAMarsSetting records is just a bonus. Longer drives are putting more geological diversity within reach faster, taking the rover from an ancient lakebed up a fossilized river system and onto a crater rim, where an entirely different ancient habitat may await. https://go.nasa.gov/4jda0VX@NASAMarsSetting records is just a bonus. Longer drives are putting more geological diversity within reach faster, taking the rover from an ancient lakebed up a fossilized river system and onto a crater rim, where an entirely different ancient habitat may await. https://go.nasa.gov/4jda0VX@NASAMarsSetting records is just a bonus. Longer drives are putting more geological diversity within reach faster, taking the rover from an ancient lakebed up a fossilized river system and onto a crater rim, where an entirely different ancient habitat may await. https://go.nasa.gov/4jda0VX
