NASA’s Perseverance rover has set a new record for the longest distance driven by any vehicle on another world, reaching 28.10 miles (45.22 kilometers) on Mars and surpassing a record held by Opportunity for years.

The six-wheeled rover crossed the milestone on October 11, during the 2,006th Martian day of its mission. It overtook Opportunity’s 28.06-mile (45.16-kilometer) record, covering the distance in about five and a half years compared with Opportunity’s nearly 15 years.

Much of Perseverance’s progress comes from its autonomous navigation system, AutoNav, which allows the rover to identify obstacles and plan routes while moving. NASA says the system has guided more than 90% of its total driving distance, compared with about 5% for Opportunity’s early autonomous navigation system.

Perseverance can travel up to 1,351 feet (412 meters) in a single Martian day. Its navigation software processes about 600,000 measurement points with each look at the terrain, compared with just 20 used by Sojourner, NASA’s first Mars rover.

AutoNav uses onboard cameras to capture images of the surrounding terrain, builds a three-dimensional map of potential hazards and selects a safe route between waypoints chosen by engineers on Earth.

The system allows Perseverance to make driving decisions without waiting for detailed instructions from mission controllers. NASA describes the process as “thinking while driving.”

The record-breaking drive covered 299.6 feet (91.31 meters), pushing the rover beyond Opportunity’s previous mark.

4 miles of driving. We’ve blown well past that, and with all mobility systems fully operational and favorable extended-ground-life test results, we expect Perseverance to keep adding to this record for many years to come,” said Steven Lee, project manager for the Curiosity and Perseverance rovers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

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