NASA Perseverance rover set to be a Mars speed demon as it drives itself
Perseverance could become the Lewis Hamilton of Mars.
Perseverance poses for a selfie early on in its mission on Mars.
Driving a rover isn't like operating a car in a video game. There's a lot of pre-planning and sending of commands across space. The Perseverance rover is built to handle its own business when it comes to roving over the red planet, and it has already completed its first autonomous drive.
NASA is trying out Perseverance's AutoNav system, which lets it make decisions about its driving while it's on the move. The system creates 3D terrain maps, looks for obstacles and plans its own routes without needing a human to step in and make all the decisions.
Perseverance's older sibling rover Curiosity uses an earlier version of the autonomous driving system, but the latest one is much more advanced. According to NASA , Curiosity can cover about 66 feet (20 meters) per hour, but Perseverance could hit a top speed of 393 feet (120 meters) per hour as it trucks across the Jezero Crater. What a speed demon.
NASA shared a look at Perseverance's first AutoNav drive as seen through the rover's navigation cameras.
A second video shows a computer simulation version of the rover's first AutoNav experience, which gives us a peek into what the rover is "thinking" as it drives and avoids potentially hazardous obstacles.
The rover's ability to find a relatively smooth path forward will help with its speed and also with protecting its wheels. The aluminum wheels have been redesigned since Curiosity, which has run into challenges with cracks and breaks.
Perseverance arrived on Mars in February and spent some time assisting the experimental Ingenuity helicopter before embarking on its first official science campaign.
The rover's fleet wheels will help it cover ground as it seeks out signs of ancient microbial life. "We're driving a lot farther in a lot less time than Curiosity demonstrated," said NASA JPL rover team member Michael McHentry.
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