NASA's Mars rover broke the record. What path did he take on Mars

The U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) reported that its Perseverance rover set a new record for the total distance traveled on the surface of another planet, driving on Mars by October 11, 2026 45.22 km. This result allowed the spacecraft to surpass the previous record set by NASA's Opportunity rover during its operation on Mars from 2004 to 2018 - 45.16 km.

According to NASA, Perseverance also bypassed the rovers NASA Curiosity (located on Mars since 2012, at this point has traveled 38.15 km), Spirit and Sojourner, the Soviet vehicles “Lunokhod-1” and “Lunokhod-2”, NASA rovers “Apollo-15”, “Apollo-16” and “Apollo-17”, as well as Chinese lunar rovers “Yutu” and “Yutu-2”.

The six-wheeled Perseverance rover was sent into space on July 30, 2020. On February 18, 2021, the spacecraft reached the surface of Mars, landing in Jezero Crater, where scientists believe that more than 3.5 billion years ago there was a lake into which rivers flowed. Perseverance's mission is to search for traces of ancient microbiological life. To do this, the rover collects samples of Martian rocks and soil to then deliver them to Earth.

Stephen Lee, Perseverance and Curiosity project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, told Reuters that Perseverance is in excellent technical condition and could work on Mars until the 2030s or longer.