NASA's Perseverance rover has now travelled more than 45.2 kilometres on Mars, making it the vehicle that has travelled the greatest distance beyond Earth.
The record was set recently on the 2,006th Martian day of the mission, known as a sol. A Martian day lasts approximately 24 hours and 39 minutes. That day, Perseverance travelled another 91.3 metres. This was enough to surpass the previous record held by NASA's earlier Mars rover, Opportunity, which landed on Mars in 2004.
"This is a major and important milestone for the mission and for our contribution here at DTU Space. It demonstrates not only the capabilities of the rover itself, but also the technological and scientific advances behind the entire mission," says Professor John Leif Jørgensen, who leads DTU's contribution to Perseverance, which landed on Mars in 2021.
The new record also surpasses the distances travelled on the Moon by the American astronauts' lunar rovers and the unmanned Soviet Lunokhod vehicles in the 1970s.
Possible signs of life identified
Perseverance has identified some of the most promising potential signs yet of ancient microbial life on Mars.
This was achieved with the help of the rover's advanced camera and navigation system developed by DTU Space, known as the Micro Context Camera system.
The findings were described in a major paper published last year in the prestigious scientific journal Nature.
"Our equipment has played an important role in locating, examining and documenting a number of geological formations and areas of particular interest, where evidence has emerged suggesting that life may once have existed on Mars," says John Leif Jørgensen.
However, there is still no conclusive evidence that life has existed on Mars. Only a detailed examination of the samples here on Earth can ultimately establish whether this was the case.
These samples have already been collected and sealed in robust containers placed at strategic locations on the Martian surface, allowing a potential future mission to bring them back to Earth.
A series of milestones and years of effort
The mission has also achieved a number of other milestones during its journey through the challenging terrain and environment of Mars.
Perseverance has tested materials for future crewed space missions and used artificial intelligence to plan its driving routes. The mission has also achieved the first powered flight of a helicopter on another planet, using an autonomous, unmanned helicopter deployed as part of the Mars mission.
All of this is the result of six years of exploration on Mars and many years of preparation here on Earth, during which researchers and engineers from NASA and international partners, including DTU Space, contributed to the development of the mission's technology and scientific instruments.
Perseverance is now continuing its exploration along the rim of Jezero Crater and the ancient river delta on Mars, with the overall aim of understanding the planet's geological history and investigating whether Mars may once have supported life.
