NASA's Perseverance rover has made history by completing the longest single drive on Mars, covering over 411 meters (more than a quarter mile) of rocky terrain on June 19. Compared to other Mars rovers like Curiosity and Opportunity, Perseverance has proven to be a speedster, showcasing its impressive mobility on the Martian surface. According to Science Alert, Perseverance's advanced self-driving software enables it to process and analyse images on the move, allowing for longer daily drives. Unlike Curiosity and Opportunity, which need to stop to take and process images before proceeding, Perseverance's capability opens up new possibilities for scientific exploration on Mars.
Since landing on Mars in 2021, Perseverance has made significant progress, evolving from a cautious 6.5-meter test drive to tackling challenging terrain, including a notable climb up a crater. The rover has also achieved a record-breaking 700-meter autonomous drive without human intervention. Its recent long road trip is part of its mission to explore and collect Martian rock samples.
For the past month and a half, Perseverance has been exploring the Krokodillen plateau on the Jezero crater rim's outer slopes, searching for clay-bearing rocks. If samples here are found to contain minerals known as 'phyllosilicates', it could mean that abundant water may have existed here in the distant past. Additionally, phyllosilicates are known to preserve ancient organic materials, making these samples potentially valuable for understanding Mars' past.
"If we find a potential biosignature here, it would most likely be from an entirely different and much earlier epoch of Mars evolution than the one we found last year in the crater with 'Cheyava Falls'," said Ken Farley, deputy project scientist for Perseverance.
"The Krokodillen rocks formed before Jezero Crater was created, during Mars' earliest geologic period, the Noachian, and are among the oldest rocks on Mars," he added.
On the Krokodillen plateau, Perseverance has found clay-bearing rocks that are fragile and prone to breaking. To gather meaningful evidence, the rover needs to collect a high-quality sample. With seven sample tubes remaining, the NASA team decided to revisit a previously sampled spot with a strong clay signature, hoping to find the best evidence of Mars' past.
Notably, the Opportunity rover, active on Mars since 2004, holds the record for the most distance driven on another planet, with over 40 km. However, Perseverance's advanced mobility may soon put it in the lead, as it continues to traverse the Martian terrain with greater ease and finesse than its predecessors.
