Mars Rover Perseverance Achieves Record-Long Drive on Another Planet

NASA’s Mars rover Perseverance has set a new record by driving 411.7 meters in a single move, covering nearly a quarter mile of Martian terrain. The rover was exploring the Krokodillen plateau in search of clay-bearing rocks that could hold clues to Mars’ watery past.

During its mission, the team had difficulty sampling and abrading these fine-grained rocks. To overcome this challenge, they returned to a previous site where they successfully abraded and analyzed similar rocks at “Strong Island.” This time, they plan to coring attempt with clay-rich bedrock identified as Joshua’s target.

Meanwhile, two special visitors, Madeline and Joshua, met with the Perseverance team, fulfilling their wishes through the Make-A-Wish foundation. The duo was named honorary Mars 2020 Operations Team Members and got to experience a rover planning meeting, interacting with scientists and engineers on campus.

Source: https://science.nasa.gov/blog/continuing-the-quest-for-clays