Achieved in just five years.
Perseverance has officially completed a marathon. NASA announced that the Mars rover has now traveled a distance exceeding 26.2 miles since its landing on the Martian surface five years ago. This is particularly impressive given its maximum speed of just 0.1 mph under optimal conditions. The rover reached this milestone on June 14. According to NASA, “Perseverance is only the second vehicle to achieve the marathon distance on another planet, following the Opportunity rover, which did so in 2015.”
In contrast, Opportunity took over 11 years to cover that distance. The Curiosity rover, which has been on Mars since 2012, has managed to drive just over 23 miles. Perseverance achieved this milestone while investigating fascinating ancient landscapes to the west of Jezero Crater, where it identified remnants of a historical lake and potential evidence of past life. The rover has also sent back images from this exploration, including a selfie.
