All articles tagged with #perseverance
NASA’s Perseverance now uses an onboard system called Mars Global Localization to pin down its exact position on Mars by matching panoramic images to orbital terrain maps, achieving accuracy of about 25 centimeters. This allows the rover to navigate more autonomously and travel farther without Earth-based guidance, building on AI-driven planning and reducing reliance on ground control.
NASA's Perseverance rover can now determine its precise location on Mars autonomously using Mars Global Localization, matching navigation camera panoramas to orbital imagery in about two minutes to pinpoint its position within roughly 25 centimeters. This enables longer, safer drives without Earth-based input, complements existing auto-navigation, and signals broader use of onboard AI for future missions including lunar exploration.
New findings from NASA’s Perseverance in Jezero Crater suggest Mars during the Noachian epoch (about 4.1–3.7 billion years ago) was warmer and wetter than previously believed, with evidence of persistent rainfall indicated by kaolinite-rich clays and weathered rocks, challenging the cold, icy Mars theory and implying habitable conditions in the distant past.
Simone Biles connected with Ilia Malinin in Milano to validate his feelings after a difficult season, sharing her own experience with the twisties and the long path to peak form, and stressing that support and perseverance can help athletes come back on top.
NASA's Perseverance rover completed two drives on Mars guided by artificial intelligence, using Anthropic's Claude to generate safe route waypoints tested in a digital twin. The 689-foot and 807-foot routes showed the rover could deviate from plans based on terrain data, marking the first AI-planned drives on another world. With interplanetary delays preventing real-time remote control, AI-assisted path planning could speed future missions to the Moon and Mars.
NASA's Perseverance rover completed its first two AI-planned drives on Mars (Dec. 8 and Dec. 10, 2025) at Jezero Crater, using Anthropic's Claude AI to analyze orbital imagery and terrain data and map routes. The missions totaled about 456 meters (nearly 1,500 feet), with extensive digital-twin validation, showcasing generative AI's potential to plan long rover drives and reduce operator workload while increasing science return.
NASA’s Perseverance rover found thousands of kaolinite-rich rocks in Jezero crater, minerals that form with long-term water exposure, strengthening evidence that Mars was once warmer and wetter with rainfall-driven weathering; the rocks’ exact source is unclear—potentially transported by ancient rivers or ejected by meteorite impacts from nearby terrain.
NASA’s Perseverance completed the first Mars drives planned by artificial intelligence, using vision-language AI to generate safe waypoints around Jezero Crater on Dec. 8 and 10, 2025. The AI-generated routes were tested via a digital twin before commands were sent, showcasing autonomous navigation that could reduce operator workload and boost science return for future off-Earth missions.
NASA's Perseverance has logged about 42.3 kilometers on Mars (a marathon distance) and is reinforced for extended operation with autonomous driving and hardware rated for roughly 60 more kilometers, putting it on track to possibly surpass Opportunity’s distance record while continuing science in Jezero Crater’s ancient river delta.
NASA has scrapped the Mars Sample Return mission due to funding cuts, leaving 33 sealed samples collected by the Perseverance rover on Mars with no current plan to retrieve them.
NASA's Mars Sample Return plan to bring Martian rocks to Earth has been effectively canceled after Congress trimmed its funding; estimates had placed the cost around $7–11 billion, making the unprecedented mission too expensive amid budget pressures. Perseverance has cached 33 sample tubes on Mars, but the fate of those samples is uncertain, with possibilities including future revival, tech development, or new efforts by ESA or China, while current funding supports only limited Mars exploration tech.
Lawmakers’ minibus language signals the cancellation of NASA’s Mars Sample Return (MSR) program, even as the technology developed for MSR is deemed critical for future missions. Space scientists and advocates warn the move could undermine U.S. leadership and jeopardize the Perseverance samples, while the bill redirects funding toward a new Mars Future Missions program to advance robotic and eventually crewed Mars exploration. The Senate must decide, but supporters say a sustainable path to sample return can still emerge, guided by Decadal Surveys and ongoing Mars exploration.
Undrafted and undersized, Troy Stecher’s improbable climb—from BCHL standout to North Dakota to seven NHL teams—has culminated in Toronto, where a waiver pickup turned him into a trusted, high-minute defenseman and a cult hero. Known for fearless, team-first play, Stecher is logging big minutes, anchoring the penalty kill, and delivering leadership that teammates say embodies his motto, “a man of no fear.”
NASA's Mars Sample Return program, which aimed to bring Martian samples to Earth for detailed analysis, has been canceled due to high costs and lack of a concrete plan, resulting in the loss of valuable scientific opportunities, including the analysis of potentially biosignature-bearing rocks like Cheyava Falls.
NASA's Perseverance rover found mineral and textural evidence in Martian mudstone that could indicate past microbial activity, representing the closest potential sign of life on Mars to date, though further testing is needed to confirm biological origins.