NASA's Perseverance Rover Just Broke A Major Mars Record

NASA's Perseverance rover continues exploring Mars, scooping up rock samples and searching for evidence of ancient life. During its most recent travels, the machine set a new record, achieving the longest drive in a single Martian day by a Mars rover.

The space agency recently announced on Twitter that Perseverance broke the record by traveling 798 feet in a single sol, or Martian day, and then broke its own record again the next day by traveling 806 feet on February 5, 2022. These two days beat out the previous 17-year-long record held by the rover Opportunity.

Although around 800 feet might not sound like that much, it's a long way for a rover to travel. Perseverance's operators at NASA are very careful with their traveling to ensure that no harm comes to the rover from surface hazards like rocks or craters where the rover could get stuck. To get a sense of just how tough the Martian surface can be on these vehicles, check out the recently-released photos showing damage to the wheels of Perseverance's sister rover, Curiosity. The wheels are covered in cracks and gouges caused by the tough Martian terrain.

The good news is that Curiosity can keep on rolling even with its wheels in a beat-up condition. And, hopefully, Perseverance's wheels will last even longer, as they feature an updated tread pattern that uses curves instead of Curiosity's chevrons, which are designed to better withstand pressure from sharp rocks.

NASA revealed that Perseverance also broke its own record for longest AutoNav drive. The latest version of this autonomous navigation system was designed specifically for Perseverance; it uses a 3D map of the rover's surroundings to plot and execute a route around hazards. Some human oversight is still required, as the vehicle's driving team keeps an eye on the rover and the path it is taking, but Perseverance can drive itself more than any model has before, according to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. 

This helps the rover drive farther in a single day by reducing the amount of work humans need to perform here on Earth, making these new records possible. This self-driving capability also means Perseverance's top speed has increased, and the rover could potentially travel up to 393 feet per hour, a massive improvement compared to Curiosity's top speed of 66 feet per hour.