NASA's Perseverance rover has broken a driving record far from Earth. On October 11, its total distance on Mars reached 45.22 kilometres. That broke the record set by another rover, Opportunity. Perseverance took about five and a half years to reach this distance. Opportunity needed almost fifteen years for its slightly shorter journey.
A system called AutoNav helps the vehicle choose safe routes between points selected on Earth. It takes pictures, maps nearby dangers and plans a path while moving. More than ninety percent of the rover's distance used this system. Driving farther gives the science team access to more places. The rover is now exploring very old rocks that may hold clues about Mars's past.