NASA's Perseverance rover has achieved a remarkable milestone on Mars, covering a total distance of 42.2 kilometers (26.2 miles) as of June 2026, equivalent to a marathon. The rover landed on Mars on February 18, 2021, in Jezero Crater, and has been exploring the planet's surface for over five years.
This distance was confirmed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), which manages the mission. Perseverance's journey has included traversing diverse terrain, from the crater floor to the ancient river delta, collecting rock and soil samples for future return to Earth.
The marathon milestone highlights the rover's durability and the success of its mission to search for signs of ancient microbial life. Perseverance has also deployed the Ingenuity helicopter, which completed 72 flights before its final flight in January 2024.
NASA plans to continue Perseverance's exploration, with the goal of reaching the crater rim in the coming months. The samples collected will be retrieved by a future mission, currently planned for the early 2030s.
