Perseverance Rover Makes First Drive Across Martian Terrain

When the Perseverance rover landed on Mars two weeks ago, scientists at NASA were ecstatic. But it was even more when the rover sent the first images it captured of the Red Planet.

This time around, the space agency announced that the Perseverance rover begun its first drive on the Martian terrain covering 21.3 feet (6.5 meters) across the Red Planet, BBC reported.

NASA's deputy project scientist Katie Stack Morgan said that this is a significant moment for the rover. "While the rover is still doing a lot of engineering checkouts, the minute 'the rubber' begins to move we can consider ourselves explorers on the surface of Mars," she said.

The space agency said that the drive served as a mobility test of the rover to check out and calibrate every system, subsystem, and instrument in the rover. It is expected in the coming days that Perseverance rover's regular drives would extend to 656 feet (200 meters).

Big Moment for NASA's Perseverance Rover

On March 4, the Perseverance rover began its first drive on the Martian terrain as it moves forward a short way, turning 150 degrees on the spot, and then backed up a bit.

Mars 2020 Perseverance rover mobility testbed engineer Anais Zarifian of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California said that the rover's six-wheel-drive is a significant moment as it signals that the vehicle is ready.

She said that wheel tracks left on Mars by the Perseverance rover can be seen on the photo and that she and the team of scientists working on the rover are happy to see the huge milestone of the mission and mobility team for so many people have worked for this very moment for years, the news outlet reported.

Furthermore, Mars 2020 Perseverance rover deputy mission manager Robert Hogg said that the rover is expected to conduct a geological examination on the Jezero Crater soon.

Other activities would also include detailed testing and calibration of instruments, sending the rover on long drives, and jettisoning the covers that shield the adaptive caching assembly and the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, which will also conduct its flight test during the rover's commissioning.

Naming the Landing Site

According to NASA's news release, the scientists have named the touchdown site, where the Perseverance rover landed for the late science fiction author Octavia E. Butler.

She was a groundbreaking author of science fiction from Pasadena, California and the first African American woman to win the Hugo Award and Nebula Award. Also, Butler is the first science fiction author to be honored with a MacArthur Fellowship.

The site where the Mars Perseverance Rover landed now bears the name "Octavia E. Butler Landing."

Often, the International Astronomical Union names places and objects throughout the solar system including asteroids, comets, and locations on planets. Traditionally, scientists at NASA would also give nicknames to various geological features that they can use as references in scientific papers.

According to Morgan, Butler has inspired and influenced the planetary science community, even those under-represented in the STEM fields, with her character that embody determination and inventiveness that make it fit for the Perseverance rover mission and its theme of overcoming hurdles.

Check out more news and information on NASA and Perseverance Rover on Science Times.