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Mars rovers

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1. What we know so far
2. On 11 October 2026, Perseverance's total driving distance reached 45.22 kilometers (28.10 miles), passing the 45.16 kilometers Opportunity logged over 15 years and setting the record for distance driven on another world, according to NASA and EarthSky.
3. According to Wikipedia contributors, as of October 2026, Curiosity and Perseverance remained operational.
4. As of October 2026, NASA had approved Perseverance's first mission extension, which began that month and carries its exploration of the Jezero crater rim through roughly the end of 2028, according to EarthSky.
5. On 26 August 2026, Curiosity reached an elevation gain of 1 kilometer on its climb from the floor of Gale Crater up Mount Sharp, the high point so far of its 14-year mission, according to NASA.
6. As of 8 October 2026, Curiosity had driven 38.07 kilometers.
7. As of October 2026, NASA's mission page said Perseverance had collected more than two dozen geologically diverse rock samples during its first five years on Mars.
8. On 10 September 2025, NASA said a Perseverance sample contained potential biosignatures, but that the minerals could also form without biological processes.
9. In January 2026, Congress's fiscal 2026 appropriations closed the office of NASA's existing Mars Sample Return program, according to The Planetary Society, which said NASA had no plan for returning the samples Perseverance collected; the same legislation funded a new $110 million Mars Future Missions project.
10. Operational rovers: Curiosity and Perseverance (per Wikipedia contributors)
11. Perseverance distance driven: 45.22 kilometers (28.10 miles), a record for any vehicle on another world
12. Curiosity distance: 38.07 kilometers
13. Opportunity distance: 45.16 kilometers
14. Perseverance samples: More than two dozen geologically diverse rock samples
15. Mars Sample Return: The existing NASA program office was closed by fiscal 2026 appropriations (per The Planetary Society)
16. Sojourner
17. According to NASA, Sojourner landed on Mars on 4 July 1997 and lost communications on 27 September 1997. The rover weighed 10.6 kilograms and carried instruments for scientific observations and technology demonstrations. It traveled just over 100 meters before communications ended. NASA records that observations from Mars Pathfinder and Sojourner suggested that ancient Mars had been warm and wet. NASA states that rounded pebbles and cobbles observed by Pathfinder suggested that they had formed in running water during a warmer period. NASA managed Sojourner through its Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
18. Spirit and Opportunity
19. According to NASA, Spirit landed at Gusev Crater in January 2004 and completed its mission in 2010. Wikipedia contributors record that it covered 7.7 kilometers before becoming stuck in sand, and NASA's final communication from the rover came on 22 March 2010. NASA ceased recovery attempts on 25 May 2011. Spirit's rock record showed that stable liquid water had persisted on the surface of ancient Mars.
20. Opportunity landed in Meridiani Planum on 24 January 2004. It last communicated with Earth on 10 June 2018 during a planet-wide dust storm, and NASA declared its mission complete on 13 February 2019 after unsuccessful recovery attempts. Opportunity drove 45.16 kilometers, although it was designed for 90 Martian days, and operated for more than 15 years. NASA records that it found evidence that liquid water had existed on ancient Mars, and its findings indicated that Meridiani Planum may have been habitable during part of Mars's history. NASA also reported that Opportunity returned more than 217,000 images, exposed the surfaces of 52 rocks, and brushed 72 additional targets.
21. Curiosity
22. Curiosity launched on 26 November 2011 and landed in Gale Crater on 6 August 2012. NASA assigned it to determine whether Mars had ever supported microbial life. As of 8 October 2026, Curiosity had driven 38.07 kilometers. It acquired a one-kilometer elevation gain while climbing Mount Sharp on 26 August 2026. As of 29 September 2026, Curiosity had drilled and collected 42 powdered rock samples, and its chemical and mineral findings showed that Mars had once had habitable environments. NASA states that the rover carried ten scientific instruments, including cameras, a laser, and a rock drill. NASA reported that Curiosity remained operational in October 2026.
23. Perseverance and Ingenuity
24. Perseverance launched on 30 July 2020 and landed in Jezero Crater on 18 February 2021. NASA assigned it to search for ancient microbial life and collect rock and regolith samples for possible return to Earth. According to NASA, the rover found evidence that Jezero Crater once contained a stable lake, a delta, and a river system. As of October 2026, NASA said it had collected more than two dozen geologically diverse rock samples during its first five years on Mars.
25. On 11 October 2026, Perseverance passed Opportunity's off-world driving record, according to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The record drive that sol covered 91.31 meters, and it brought the rover's total to 45.22 kilometers. EarthSky reported that it came as Perseverance headed toward an area called Idubi, in a region off the western rim of Jezero Crater nicknamed Lac de Charmes, where the science team hoped to find traces of ancient hydrothermal systems. NASA reported that Perseverance remained operational in October 2026.
26. NASA reported on 10 September 2025 that the Sapphire Canyon sample collected by Perseverance contained potential biosignatures that required further study before conclusions about life could be reached. Spots in the Cheyava Falls rock carried signatures of vivianite and greigite. NASA stated that these minerals could also form without biological processes, while reporting that abiotic explanations were less likely but could not be ruled out for the Bright Angel formation. Perseverance had collected 27 rock cores by 10 September 2025.
27. Ingenuity was a helicopter carried beneath Perseverance during the mission to Mars, not a rover. NASA said its mission ended on 25 January 2024 after its final flight damaged a rotor blade and left it unable to fly. NASA records that it completed 72 flights, accumulated more than two hours of flight time, operated from 48 airfields, and made three emergency landings.
28. Zhurong
29. Wikipedia contributors state that Zhurong landed in southern Utopia Planitia on 14 May 2021 and began driving on 22 May 2021. It was China's first rover to operate on Mars and the first non-American rover to operate there successfully. China’s National Space Administration managed the rover. Zhurong had traveled 1,921 meters as of 5 May 2022.
30. Zhurong entered hibernation in May 2022 because of an approaching sandstorm and Martian winter. Sources give different dates for the event: one source reports 20 May 2022, while another reports 18 May 2022. A 2023 report stated that dust on its solar panels had prevented sufficient energy from reaching the rover for a restart. CNSA scientists had not received a signal from Zhurong by January 2023, and the rover had not changed position between September 2022 and 21 February 2023.
31. Mission designer Zhang Rongqiao said in April 2023 that Zhurong's dust accumulation exceeded expectations and the rover might remain inactive permanently.
32. Sample return and future rovers
33. The samples collected by Perseverance remained on Mars after Congress's fiscal 2026 appropriations legislation closed NASA's existing Mars Sample Return program office, according to The Planetary Society. The Planetary Society described the appropriations as ending the program in its existing form, while SpaceNews described a major NASA mission as canceled. According to The Planetary Society, the fiscal 2026 legislation funded a new Mars Future Missions project intended to develop technologies for robotic and eventual crewed Mars missions.
34. Timeline
35. 4 July 1997: Sojourner landed on Mars and began operating as part of Mars Pathfinder.
36. January 2004: NASA states that Spirit landed at Gusev Crater, and Opportunity landed in Meridiani Planum on 24 January 2004.
37. 6 August 2012: Curiosity landed in Gale Crater.
38. 13 February 2019: NASA declared Opportunity's mission complete after unsuccessful recovery attempts.
39. 18 February 2021: Perseverance landed in Jezero Crater.
40. 14 May 2021: Zhurong landed in southern Utopia Planitia and became the first Chinese rover to operate on Mars.
41. 25 January 2024: NASA announced the end of Ingenuity's mission after its final flight damaged a rotor blade.
42. 10 September 2025: NASA reported potential biosignatures in Perseverance's Sapphire Canyon sample while stating that nonbiological explanations remained possible.
43. 8 October 2026: Curiosity had driven 38.07 kilometers.
44. 11 October 2026: According to NASA, Perseverance passed Opportunity's off-world driving record.
45. 2026-10: NASA's mission page said Perseverance had collected more than two dozen geologically diverse rock samples during its first five years on Mars.

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