NASA's Perseverance Rover Will Drive Itself On Mars Surface

PASADENA, CA — As the Perseverance rover begins its trek across the Martian surface, researchers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena plan to give it more autonomy as it navigates the red planet's terrain, the space agency announced Thursday.

Since landing on the Martian surface, the rover’s movements have been controlled by a NASA researcher. As it continues to explore more of its landing site, the Jezero Crater, NASA officials said the rover will begin to do so without the help of anyone on Earth.

Using a navigation system called AutoNav, the space agency said the rover will be able to make a 3D map of the surrounding terrain and identify potential hazards as it plans a travel route.

“We have a capability called ‘thinking while driving,’” Vandi Verma a senior engineer at JPL said. “The rover is thinking about the autonomous drive while its wheels are turning.”

Perseverance’s predecessor, the Curiosity rover, was also equipped with a driving system but the AutoNAV is several times more advanced, NASA said in a statement. The upgraded navigation system will enable the rover to reach speeds up to 393 feet per hour as it makes the 9-mile trek to gather samples across the crater floor. Curiosity's top speed was 66 feet per hour.

“We’re going to be able to get to places the scientists want to go much more quickly,” Jennifer Trosper, the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover project manager, said. “Now we are able to drive through these more complex terrains instead of going around them: It’s not something we’ve been able to do before.”