The Perseverance rover just completed a marathon on Mars, and in record time! The previous record was held by the Opportunity rover, which took 11 years and 2 months to reach the milestone. Percy accomplished it in just 5 years and 4 months.

Perseverance even posed for a fantastic photo as it approached the finish line. The image was captured by HiRISE on 13 June 2026. The rover tracks visible in our image record the rover’s recent traverse beyond the western rim of Jezero Crater.

Interestingly, this achievement was not the original subject of HiRISE’s planned observation. The team had planned the image to compare with rover measurements and, coincidentally, captured a beautiful photo finish.

ID: ESP_093190_1985
date: 13 June 2026
altitude: 279 km

https://uahirise.org/hipod/ESP_093190_1985
NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona
#Mars #science #NASA