Stories
NASA Perseverance Rover Shatters Mars Distance Driving Record
C
CNBC TV18•16-10-2026, 18:36
NASA Perseverance Rover Shatters Mars Distance Driving Record
- •NASA's Perseverance rover has set a new milestone for the longest distance driven on Mars, traveling 28.10 miles and surpassing the previous record held by the Opportunity rover.
- •Perseverance achieved the record in about five and a half years, significantly faster than Opportunity's nearly 15-year mission duration.
- •The rover's advanced autonomous navigation system, AutoNav, enabled it to cover more than 90 percent of its total driving distance by planning routes and mapping hazards.
- •NASA has approved a mission extension for Perseverance to continue exploring the Jezero Crater rim until the end of 2028.
- •Perseverance has also surpassed historical driving records set by lunar missions, including the Lunokhod 2 rover and the Apollo 17 moonwalk vehicle.
Key Questions Answered
NASA's Perseverance rover set a new record by traveling 28.10 miles (45.22 kilometers) on the surface of Mars, surpassing the previous record held by the Opportunity rover.
Perseverance achieved this distance milestone in about five and a half years during its 2,006th Martian day, or sol, on October 11.
The rover's autonomous navigation system, known as AutoNav, allowed Perseverance to cover more than 90% of its total driving distance by mapping terrain and planning routes.
