NASA's Perseverance vehicle broke the distance record on Mars

The US Aerospace Agency's (NASA) Perseverance rover broke the record for traveling the longest distance on the surface of a celestial body other than Earth by traveling 45.22 kilometers on the surface of Mars.

A statement was made from NASA regarding the Mars mission of the Perseverance vehicle.

According to the statement, the vehicle, which broke the record on the 206th Mars day, surpassed the 45.16 kilometer record of the Opportunity vehicle, which explored Mars between 2004 and 2018.

Perseverance reached the distance in 5.5 years that Opportunity took approximately 15 years.

The autonomous navigation system called AutoNav, which enables Perseverance to detect obstacles and determine the safe route, played an important role in Perseverance's breaking the record for the longest distance traveled on the surface of a celestial body other than Earth by traveling 45.22 kilometers on the surface of Mars.

Thanks to this system, the vehicle completed more than 90 percent of its total distance without human intervention.

NASA has approved a mission extension for Perseverance to continue exploring the rim of Mars' Jezero Crater until approximately the end of 2028.

While it is thought that there was a lake in the Jezero Crater in the past, Perseverance is investigating the geological history of the region and the presence of conditions suitable for microbial life.

The vehicle had previously discovered features in a rock called Cheyava Falls that may be clues that it hosted microscopic life in the past.