It did so in just five years.
Perseverance is officially a marathon finisher. NASA shared this week that the Mars rover has surpassed a total distance of 26.2 miles since it landed on the red planet five years ago. Considering its speed tops out at .1 mph under the best conditions, that’s a pretty remarkable achievement. It crossed the marathon mark on June 14, according to NASA. “Perseverance is only the second explorer to travel the distance of a marathon on another world, following NASA’s Opportunity rover, which accomplished the feat in 2015,” the space agency wrote in an Instagram post.
By comparison, it took Opportunity 11 years and two months to cover that much ground. The Curiosity rover, which has been on Mars since 2012, has driven just over 23 miles. Perseverance “crossed the milestone while exploring intriguing, ancient terrain to the west of Jezero Crater, where the robotic geologist discovered the remnants of an ancient lake, and possible signs of ancient life,” NASA said. The rover recently sent back images from its western excursion, which included a selfie.
