NASA's Perseverance Mars rover breaks interplanetary driving record — and it's far from done

NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover achieved a groundbreaking milestone by surpassing Opportunity rover’s previous record for longest distance traveled outside of our planet. The Perseverance rover covered an astounding 10.87 billion miles (17.49 billion kilometers) since landing in Jezero Crater on February 18th, 2021. This new record represents a significant advancement in robotic exploration capabilities within our solar system. Scientists are particularly interested in the data collected during this extended mission as it continues to investigate potential signs of ancient microbial life. The rover's continued operation and impressive driving range underscore NASA’s commitment to furthering scientific discovery on Mars.