NewsNASA
Perseverance breaks Opportunity’s off-world driving record
NASA’s rover reached 45.22 km (28.10 mi) on Oct 11, 2026, passing the 45.16 km Opportunity drove from 2004 to 2018. It took five and a half years; Opportunity took almost 15.
By Mars Progress · Edited by Aleksandar Simov
Published 3 min read
Update, Oct 18, 2026: Guinness World Records has recognized the record. NASA posted a photo of the rover team with the certificate on Oct 13. All changes
Updated What changed (1)Sources (3)
NASA’s Perseverance rover has driven farther than any vehicle on another world: 45.22 km (28.10 mi) by Oct 11, 2026. That beat the 45.16 km (28.06 mi) record set by NASA’s Opportunity rover, which explored Mars from 2004 to 2018, NASA said on Oct 12.[1]
A 91.31 m (299.6 ft) drive on the rover’s sol 2,006, its 2,006th Martian day, took it past the mark. Perseverance covered the distance in five and a half years; Opportunity took almost 15.[1] NASA’s map data shows it was the rover’s first drive since sol 1,980, in mid-September, when it had stopped about 34 m short of the record.[2]
Guinness World Records has recognized the record. On Oct 13 NASA posted a photo of the rover team posing with the Guinness certificate that marks it.[3]
How did Perseverance drive so far?
Mostly by driving itself. With a system called AutoNav, the rover takes pictures of the ground as it rolls, builds a 3D map of hazards and picks its own path between points chosen by rover planners on Earth. NASA says it has driven more than 90% of its distance this way, compared with about 5% for Opportunity and its twin, Spirit. It can cover up to 412 m (1,351 ft) in one sol.[1]
“The rover that broke this record did so by making its own decisions about the path,” said Mark Maimone, deputy team chief for robotic operations on Perseverance. “Given the autonomy to just go, Perseverance is a better driver than the one that landed, and we’re not done.”[1]
The mission was first planned for no more than 20 km (12.4 mi) of driving, said Steven Lee, project manager of the Curiosity and Perseverance rovers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. “We’ve blown well past that,” he said.[1]
Which vehicles have driven the farthest on another world?
Perseverance first, then Opportunity. Earlier in its mission Perseverance passed the longest drives on the Moon: 39 km by the Soviet Lunokhod 2 rover in 1973, and 35.7 km by the Apollo 17 astronauts in 1972.[1]
| Vehicle | Where | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Perseverance (NASA) | Mars, since 2021 | 45.22 km28.10 mi, by Oct 11, 2026, still driving |
| Opportunity (NASA) | Mars, 2004-2018 | 45.16 km28.06 mi |
| Lunokhod 2 (Soviet Union) | Moon, 1973 | 39 km24.2 mi |
| Curiosity (NASA) | Mars, since 2012 | More than 38.07 km23.65 mi, by Oct 11, 2026, still driving |
| Apollo 17 astronauts | Moon, 1972 | 35.7 km22.2 mi, Gene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt |
| Spirit (NASA) | Mars, 2004-2010 | 7.7 km4.8 mi |
| Sojourner (NASA) | Mars, 1997 | About 100 m330 ft |
Why it matters for Mars
Longer drives put more kinds of rock within reach, NASA says: more outcrops examined, and more of Mars’s history read from its rocks. Driving took Perseverance from an ancient lakebed, up a fossilized river system where it found a potential biosignature in a rock called “Cheyava Falls”, and on to Jezero’s rim, where it is looking for traces of ancient hot-water, or hydrothermal, systems.[1]
Better self-driving helps the rovers that come next, too. Maimone said Perseverance parks by mid-afternoon when it drives toward the Sun, because of glare in its navigation cameras. If the team can teach it to see past that, he said, “every rover that follows gets a longer working day.”[1]
What’s next for Perseverance?
It is heading for an area called “Idubi”, in the region its team calls “Lac de Charmes”, where scientists hope to find traces of those hydrothermal systems. After that it will drive south along the crater rim toward Rainbow Falls, a 100 m (328 ft) wide block of ancient crust pushed up by the impact that made Jezero. NASA has approved the mission’s first extension, which began in October and runs through roughly the end of 2028.[1] Lee said the team expects Perseverance “to keep adding to this record for many years to come.”[1]
Today is sol 2,026 of the mission. Our Perseverance page has its latest distance, where it is and what it has found. Our guide to every Mars rover compares all six that have driven there.
Related
Updates
- UpdateGuinness World Records has recognized the record. NASA posted a photo of the rover team with the certificate on Oct 13.
New information added since the story was published, newest first.
Sources
- NASA Science (Perseverance blog) - NASA’s Perseverance Sets Off-World Record for Total Distance DrivenPrimary · checked Oct 13, 2026
- NASA Mars rover map data - Perseverance traverse, every drive (waypoints file)Primary · checked Oct 13, 2026
- NASA Science (Photojournal) - NASA’s Record-Setting Perseverance Rover TeamPrimary · checked Oct 18, 2026