Perseverance On The Move: Mars Rover Completes First Test Drive On Red Planet
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — Scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory Friday released additional images from the Perseverance rover's life on Mars.
A photo posted to the rover's Twitter account showed tire tracks from the robot's first spin around the red planet.
I'm on the move! Just took my first test drive on Mars, covering about 16 feet (5 meters). You're looking at the very beginning of my wheel tracks. Many more to make. pic.twitter.com/7tFIwWFfJ4
— NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover (@NASAPersevere) March 5, 2021
According to scientists, the rover's first test drive lasted 33 minutes and covered 21 feet across the Martian landscape — 13 feet forward and 8 feet back into a new temporary parking space.
"This was our first chance to 'kick the tires' and take Perseverance out for a spin," Anais Zarifian, an engineer at JPL, said in a statement. "The rover's six-wheel drive responded superbly. We are now confident our drive system is good to go, capable of taking us wherever the science leads us over the next two years."
Project engineers hope to get Perseverance to an ancient river delta to collect rocks to bring back to Earth.