NASA's Perseverance Mars rover surpassed the total driving distance of the agency's Opportunity rover on October 11, 2026, according to a recent agency announcement.
Record-Breaking Martian Drive
NASA reported that the Perseverance rover passed a major milestone during a drive spanning 299.6 feet (91.31 meters) on the 2,006th Martian day, or sol, of the mission. Captured by a navigation camera, a newly released image shows rover tracks and a rocky Martian landscape from that sol.
This drive pushed Perseverance's total driving distance beyond that of NASA's Opportunity rover. Opportunity logged 28.06 miles (45.16 kilometers) during its 15-year mission on Mars.
Mission Operations
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory built and manages operations for the Perseverance rover. The laboratory is managed for the agency by Caltech in Pasadena, California, on behalf of the Science Mission Directorate in Washington as part of the Mars Exploration Program portfolio.
Key facts and where they come from
- Perseverance surpassed Opportunity's total driving distance during a 299.6-foot drive on October 11, 2026.
During that sol’s drive, spanning 299.6 feet (91.31 meters), the mission passed a major milestone: pushing Perseverance’s total driving distance beyond that of the agency’s Opportunity rover
- Opportunity logged 28.06 miles during its 15-year mission on Mars.
Opportunity rover, which logged 28.06 miles (45.16 kilometers) during its 15-year mission on Mars.
- NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory built and manages operations for the Perseverance rover.
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which is managed for the agency by Caltech in Pasadena, California, built and manages operations of the Perseverance rover
