On the 854th Martian day of its objective, NASAs Perseverance Mars rover showcased its advanced navigation capabilities by preventing a considerable obstacle– a 14-inch rock– using its AutoNav system. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
NASAs Perseverance Mars rover, on its 854th Martian day, demonstrated its autonomous navigation abilities by masterfully avoiding a rock throughout its drive.
This animation is a playback of information recorded by NASAs Perseverance Mars rover throughout an autonomous drive on July 15, 2023, the 854th day, or sol, of the mission. During this drive, the rover recognized and navigated around the 14-inch (35-centimeter) rock seen at center-left. The self-driving self-governing navigation system, AutoNav, permits the rover to autonomously re-plan its path around rocks or other obstacles on its method to a pre-established destination. Engineers driving the rover at NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California use visualization software to plan how the rover walks around on Mars and to assess its performance.
The lines seen emanating from the front of the rover are 20 feet (6 meters) long and show the courses the rover is examining for safety in real-time, while driving. Magenta lines indicate where the rover saw a belly pan clearance issue– where a terrain feature could get too close to the tummy pan beneath the rover.
The lines seen originating from the front of the rover are 20 feet (6 meters) long and suggest the paths the rover is evaluating for security in real-time, while driving. Magenta lines show where the rover saw a stomach pan clearance issue– where a terrain function might get too close to the stomach pan beneath the rover.
The animation has actually been accelerated compared to real-time.
Astrobiology is a key goal for Perseverances objective on Mars, consisting of the search for indications of ancient microbial life. The rover will characterize the planets geology and previous climate, lead the way for human exploration of the Red Planet, and be the first objective to gather and cache Martian rock and regolith (broken rock and dust).
Subsequent NASA objectives, in cooperation with ESA (European Space Agency), would send out spacecraft to Mars to gather these sealed samples from the surface and return them to Earth for extensive analysis.
The Mars 2020 Perseverance objective belongs to NASAs Moon to Mars expedition method. This consists of Artemis objectives to the Moon that will assist prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet.
JPL, which is handled for NASA by Caltech in Pasadena, California, developed and handles operations of the Perseverance rover.
Engineers driving the rover at NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California use visualization software to plan how the rover moves around on Mars and to examine its efficiency.
