‘I’m on the move!’: NASA’s Perseverance rover takes its first test drive on Mars

‘I’m on the move!’: NASA’s Perseverance rover takes its first test drive on Mars

NASA's Perseverance rover has taken its first drive on Mars, just weeks after landing on the Red Planet.The one-tonne robot travelled 21.3ft (6.5m) in a mobility test that the space agency said will allow the checking and calibrating of the rover's systems and instruments.Once Perseverance really gets going, it is expected to undertake regular commutes of 656ft (200m) or more.

Anais Zarifian, Mars 2020 Perseverance rover mobility test bed engineer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, said: "When it comes to wheeled vehicles on other planets, there are few first-time events that measure up in significance to that of the first drive."This was our first chance to 'kick the tyres' and take Perseverance out for a spin."

And the news was good: Ms Zarifian said the rover's six-wheel drive "responded superbly", adding: "We are now confident