Perseverance Sets Mars Driving Record at Jezero Crater

NASA’s Perseverance rover has become the farthest-driving vehicle on another world after reaching 28.10 miles (45.22 kilometers) on Mars. The rover achieved the milestone on Oct. 11 during its mission in the western rim region of Jezero Crater, surpassing the previous record held by NASA’s Opportunity rover.

According to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Perseverance exceeded Opportunity’s 28.06-mile (45.16-kilometer) record on its 2,006th Martian day, or sol. Perseverance covered the distance in about five and a half years, while Opportunity took nearly 15 years before ending its mission.

The rover reached the record while traveling through an area known as Lac de Charmes toward Idubi, where the science team is studying some of the oldest terrain explored in the solar system. NASA said the region may contain evidence of ancient hydrothermal systems.

Perseverance’s autonomous navigation system, called AutoNav, has played a major role in its extended travels, according to NASA. The system allows the rover to create three-dimensional maps of hazards, choose routes between planned waypoints, and drive with limited input from Earth.

NASA said Perseverance has used AutoNav for more than 90% of its total driving distance, compared with about 5% for the first Martian AutoNav system used by Opportunity and Spirit. The rover can travel up to 1,351 feet (412 meters) in a single sol while evaluating terrain.

"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. 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," said Steven Lee, the project manager of the Curiosity and Perseverance rovers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California.

NASA recently approved the first extension of Perseverance’s mission, which began in October and is expected to continue crater rim exploration through roughly the end of 2028. The rover has collected 29 rock and regolith samples from different areas of Jezero Crater.

Mark Maimone, deputy team chief for robotic operations on Perseverance, said new software improvements are expanding the rover’s driving capabilities. The updates include better steering efficiency and improved position checks against orbital maps during travel.

"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. Our newest software teaches Perseverance to steer less and roll more, and to check its own position against orbital maps mid-drive.

The next frontier is sunlight itself. Glare in the navigation cameras is why we park by mid-afternoon if we’re driving toward the Sun, and if we can teach the rover to see past those artifacts, every rover that follows gets a longer working day," said Mark Maimone, deputy team chief for robotic operations on Perseverance.

NASA’s rover program on Mars has increased its driving capabilities over nearly three decades. Sojourner traveled about 330 feet (100 meters) in 1997, Spirit reached 4.8 miles (7.7 kilometers), Opportunity completed 28.06 miles (45.16 kilometers), and Curiosity has logged more than 23.65 miles (38.07 kilometers).

Perseverance will continue along the crater rim after Lac de Charmes and head south toward Rainbow Falls, a 328-foot-wide (100-meter-wide) block of ancient crust uplifted by the impact that formed Jezero Crater.