NASA's Perseverance rover sets a Mars driving record

Perseverance wasn't built to last this long. On Oct. 11, the rover's total driving distance passed 28 miles. That's more than any vehicle has ever covered on another planet. That beat the record set by NASA's earlier rover, Opportunity, which explored Mars from 2004 to 2018. Guinness World Records confirmed the new mark this week.

Perseverance didn't just break the record. It broke it in a fraction of the time. Opportunity took nearly 15 years to cover that distance. Perseverance did it in under 6. Part of that is a newer rover with better instruments and route-planning software. Part of it is simpler: the rover has stayed healthy years longer than many missions do. That let it keep exploring well past its original plan.

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How much farther can Perseverance go? NASA hasn't set a new target distance. The rover is still climbing toward unexplored terrain on the crater rim it's been exploring for years. Every extra mile means more rock samples. It's more data on whether Mars once held life, the mission's goal from the start.