NASA’s Perseverance rover is officially on the move across the dusty surface of Mars.
The rover traveled about 16 feet near its landing site, NASA announced in a live conference Friday. This is its first confirmed movement since the mission successfully landed on Feb. 18. Photographic proof was shared through the official Perseverance Twitter account.
I’m on the move! Just took my first test drive on Mars, covering about 16 feet (5 meters). You’re looking at the very beginning of my wheel tracks. Many more to make. pic.twitter.com/7tFIwWFfJ4
— NASA’s Perseverance Mars Rover (@NASAPersevere) March 5, 2021
The tracks on the right side of the photo hint at the turn maneuver it successfully completed. Moving that distance took about 33 minutes, said Anais Zarifan, Perseverance mobility testbed engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
This little jaunt was a test of the rover’s mobility after landing, and just the first of many drives it will be taking as it explores Mars’ Jezero Crater. Before it really gets moving and doing some science, though, it needs to test out all of its parts, which could take at least a month. Thus far, everything is going well.
Over the next year or so, Perseverance is planned to cover several miles as it lumbers along the remains of an ancient Martian river delta. With a top speed of roughly one-tenth of a mile per hour, it moves about three times faster than NASA’s Curiosity rover.
And it will be on the move again soon.
“We’ll be driving today and hopefully tomorrow if all goes well,” Zarifan said.
