NASA’s Perseverance Sets Off-World Record for Total Distance Driven

NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover has driven farther than any vehicle ever has on the surface of another world. On Oct. 11, the rover’s odometer reached 28.10 miles, surpassing the record of 28.06 miles set by the agency’s Opportunity rover, which explored Mars from 2004 to 2018. Perseverance reached the milestone on the 2,006th Martian day, or sol, of its mission, covering in five and a half years a distance that took Opportunity nearly 15 years to travel. The achievement came as Perseverance traveled toward an area called Idubi through a region along the western rim of Jezero Crater known as “Lac de Charmes.” There, the rover is investigating what may be some of the oldest terrain ever explored in the solar system. The rocks and landscape in Lac de Charmes are so ancient that comparable formations on Earth have long since been erased by erosion and plate tectonics. The science team hopes that Idubi may preserve evidence of ancient hydrothermal systems. NASA recently approved the mission’s first extension, which began in October and will allow Perseverance to continue exploring the rim of Jezero Crater through 2028. https://science.nasa.gov/blogs/perseverance-mars-rover/2026/10/12/nasas-perseverance-sets-off-world-record-for-total-distance-driven/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nn202641