He did this in just five years.
Perseverance is officially a marathon finisher. NASA shared this week that the Mars rover has traveled a total of 26.2 miles since landing on the Red Planet five years ago. Under the best conditions its speed exceeds .1 mph, a very remarkable feat. According to NASA, it crossed the marathon mark on June 14. “Perseverance is the second explorer to complete the marathon distance on another world, following NASA’s Opportunity rover, which accomplished the feat in 2015,” the space agency wrote in an Instagram post.
By comparison, Opportunity took 11 years and two months to cover that much ground. The Curiosity rover, which has been on Mars since 2012, has covered just over 23 miles. “Perseverance passed the milestone, discovering interesting, ancient terrain west of Jezero Crater, where robotic geologists discovered the remains of an ancient lake and possible signs of ancient life,” NASA said. The rover recently sent back photos from its western excursion, including a selfie.
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