Washington: US space agency NASA informed that the Mars rover Perseverance has successfully conducted its first test drive on the Red Planet.
The six-wheeled rover travelled about 6.5 meters (21.3 feet) in 33 minutes on Thursday, NASA said.
It drove four meters forward, turned in place 150 degrees to the left, and then backed up 2.5 meters, leaving tire tracks in the Martian dust.
“This was our first chance to ‘kick the tires’ and take Perseverance out for a spin,” said Anais Zarifian, Perseverance mobility test bed engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
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“Yesterday afternoon, we carried out our very first drive on Mars.” — @NASAJPL‘s Robert Hogg provides an update on @NASAPersevere. pic.twitter.com/AS0C8g4Yv1
— NASA (@NASA) March 5, 2021
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“Our first drive went incredibly well. […] You can see the wheel tracks that we left on Mars. I don’t think I’ve ever been happier to see wheel tracks, and I’ve seen a lot of them.” — @NASAJPL‘s Anais Zarifian describes a milestone for @NASAPersevere. pic.twitter.com/gewrGoLsRa
— NASA (@NASA) March 5, 2021
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News from Mars: @NASAPersevere‘s team has tested its robotic arm, checked science instruments, & taken the rover on its first drive. Mission scientists have named its touchdown site “Octavia E. Butler Landing,” in honor of the late science fiction author: https://t.co/jcyr3ZZDGz pic.twitter.com/5xsQnxdjE3
— NASA (@NASA) March 5, 2021
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