WASHINGTON, March 5 (Xinhua) -- NASA's Mars 2020 Perseverance rover performed its first drive on Mars on Thursday, covering 6.5 meters across the Martian landscape, said NASA on Friday.
The drive, which lasted about 33 minutes, propelled the rover forward 4 meters, where it then turned in place 150 degrees to the left and backed up 2.5 meters into its new temporary parking space.
The drive served as a mobility test as team members check out and calibrate every system, subsystem, and instrument on Perseverance, according to NASA.
Once the rover begins pursuing its science goals, it is expected to have regular commutes extending 200 meters, said NASA. Enditem