NASA’s Perseverance rover passed 45.22 km (28.1 miles) on 11 October 2026, its 2006th Martian day, beating the off-world distance record held by Opportunity, which covered 45.16 km between 2004 and 2018. JPL robotics chief engineer Vandi Verma credits the rover’s self-driving AutoNav system, which plans routes among rocks on its own; the last 200 m could have been done in a single autonomous drive. Perseverance landed in Jezero crater in February 2021, climbed the crater rim and has been collecting rock cores for a possible return to Earth. Our take: a record for patience as much as speed — about 22 metres per Martian day on average.
45.22 kmdriven on Mars by 11 October 2026
45.16 kmOpportunity’s old record (2004–2018)
Sol 2006the Martian day the record fell