Summary
NASA says Perseverance drove 45.22 kilometres on Mars by Oct. 11, 2026, surpassing the previous off-world distance record held by Opportunity. The rover uses autonomous navigation for more than 90% of its total driving distance.
NASA’s Perseverance rover set a new off-world driving record on Oct. 11, 2026, when its odometer reached 28.10 miles (45.22 kilometres) on Mars. That moved it past the 28.06 miles (45.16 kilometres) driven by NASA’s Opportunity rover. Perseverance reached the mark on the 2,006th Martian day, or sol, of its mission, about five and a half years after landing; Opportunity took almost 15 years to cover the distance.
The milestone came as Perseverance travelled through Lac de Charmes, near the western rim of Jezero Crater, toward an area called Idubi. NASA says the rover is investigating terrain that may be among the oldest explored in the solar system. At Idubi, the science team hopes to find traces of ancient hydrothermal systems.
How autonomous navigation supports longer drives
Most of Perseverance’s driving relies on AutoNav, an autonomous navigation system. As the rover moves, it takes images of the terrain, builds a three-dimensional map of hazards and plots a route between waypoints selected by planners on Earth. The system lets the rover assess nearby terrain while driving, rather than waiting for instructions for each small movement.
NASA says AutoNav has been used for more than 90% of Perseverance’s total distance. For comparison, the first Martian AutoNav system, used on Opportunity and its twin Spirit, was used for about 5% of their driving. Perseverance can cover as much as 1,351 feet (412 metres) in a single sol at or near its top speed. It processes 600,000 measurement points with each look at the terrain; NASA’s Sojourner rover used 20.
The rover’s autonomy operates within a route planned by people: Earth-based rover planners select the waypoints, while AutoNav evaluates hazards between them. NASA’s project manager says all of Perseverance’s mobility systems remain operational and that recent extended-ground-life testing has been favourable.
More driving brings more terrain within reach
The value of longer drives is access to a wider range of rocks and landforms. NASA says Perseverance has moved from an ancient lakebed up a fossilised river system and on to Jezero’s crater rim, where different geological settings can help researchers investigate the planet’s history. The rover has collected 29 rock and regolith samples from the crater floor, the river delta fan and the rim. The rim includes impact-generated rocks about 4 billion years old.
NASA approved Perseverance’s first mission extension, which began in October and is expected to continue the crater-rim exploration through roughly the end of 2028. After Lac de Charmes, the rover is scheduled to continue along the rim and head south toward Rainbow Falls, a 328-foot-wide (100-metre-wide) block of ancient crust uplifted by the impact that formed Jezero Crater.