How does a rover drive by itself?
Nobody on Earth steers Perseverance with a remote control. Here is why, and how it finds its way.
Mars is very far away. A message from Earth takes between about 3 and 22 minutes to reach Mars, depending on where the two planets are. If a rover waited for someone on Earth to say “turn left” before every rock, it would hardly move!
So Perseverance has a clever computer brain called AutoNav. Scientists on Earth tell it where to go. Then it works out how to get there safely, all by itself.
Thinking while driving
Older rovers had to stop for a long time to think. Perseverance can think and drive at the same time. Each time it looks, it checks about 600,000 points on the ground. The very first Mars rover checked just 20!
How AutoNav works
1. Take pictures
Its cameras take photos of the ground in front.
2. Make a map
Its computer turns the photos into a 3D map of rocks and holes.
3. Pick a path
It chooses the safest way around the rocks.
4. Drive and repeat
It drives a short way, then stops and does it all again.
Mars rovers through the years
1997Sojourner: about the size of a microwave oven
2004Spirit and Opportunity: about the size of a golf cart
2012Curiosity: about the size of a small car
2021Perseverance: about the size of a small car, with a helicopter friend
Did you know?Perseverance doesn’t use only sunshine for power. A special battery turns heat into electricity, so it can keep working through dusty storms.
Big wordrecord
The best, longest or fastest that anyone has ever done.
The best, longest or fastest that anyone has ever done.