Perseverance Rover Breaks Record for Longest Autopilot Drive on Mars

NASA's Perseverance rover has set a record for the longest drive on Mars using its automatic navigation system, AutoNav. The rover successfully maneuvered through a hazardous patch of Martian land, saving scientists weeks of time. AutoNav guided Perseverance around rocks not visible to the mission team, allowing it to cover a distance of 759 meters. This marks the longest drive without human review on Mars. The rover's advanced cameras and image processing computer enable AutoNav to plan routes in real-time, making decisions on the fly. Perseverance recently began its fourth science campaign, exploring the inner regions of Jezero Crater's western rim.