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Agence France-Presse

The Mars rover Perseverance has successfully conducted its first test drive on the red planet, the US space agency Nasa said Friday.
The six-wheeled rover travelled about 6.5 metres (21.3 feet) in 33 minutes on Thursday, Nasa said.
It drove four metres forward, turned in place 150 degrees to the left, and then backed up 2.5 metres, leaving tyre tracks in the Martian dust.
“This was our first chance to ‘kick the tyres’ and take Perseverance out for a spin,” said Anais Zarifian, Perseverance mobility test bed engineer at Nasa’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

Zarifian said the test drive went “incredibly well” and represented a “huge milestone for the mission and the mobility team”.
“We’re going to do some longer drives,” she added. “This is just the beginning.”
Nasa engineers said they were studying possible routes for longer rover voyages on the surface of Mars.
Perseverance deputy mission manager Robert Hogg said engineers were also preparing for the first flight of a helicopter drone carried by the rover. Hogg said the rover team was working out flight zones and hoped to conduct the first flight in late spring or early summer.
He said the mission had not experienced any major problems so far.
“It’s all just minor stuff,” he said. “Everything we’ve tried has worked beautifully.”


Perseverance was launched on July 30, 2020 and landed on the surface of Mars on February 18 on a mission to search for signs of past life on the red planet.
The rover’s prime mission will last just over two years but it is likely to remain operational well beyond that.
Its predecessor Curiosity is still functioning eight years after landing on Mars.
Mars rover’s giant parachute carried a secret message – but what did it say?
Over the coming years, Perseverance will attempt to collect 30 rock and soil samples in sealed tubes to be sent back to Earth sometime in the 2030s for analysis.
About the size of an SUV, the craft weighs about a tonne, is equipped with a seven-foot-long (2.1-metre-long) robotic arm, has 19 cameras, two microphones and a suite of cutting-edge instruments.
The rover is only the fifth to set its wheels down on Mars, all of them American. The feat was first accomplished in 1997.
The United States is preparing for an eventual human mission to the planet, though planning remains very preliminary.


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Space

Nasa’s Perseverance rover goes for first test drive on Mars

The Perseverance rover took its first test drive on Mars on Thursday. Photo: Nasa via AP

epa09054566 A handout photo made available by NASA shows tyre marks left by NASA's Perseverance Mars rover, 05 March 2021. The rover moved for the first time since landing on Mars on February, 18. Perseverance's main mission on Mars is astrobiology and the search for signs of ancient microbial life, according to NASA. EPA-EFE/NASA/JPL-Caltech HANDOUT HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES

China’s Tianwen-1 zooms in on Mars surface on cusp of new tech era

China says observations from its Tianwen-1 orbiter will help to understand how sandstorms form on the surface of Mars. Photo: Reuters/CNSA

HANDOUT - 24 February 2021, ---: A panoramic picture provided by NASA on 24 February 2021, shows the rim of the Jezero Crater where the Mars Perseverance rover landed on the Red Planet last week. The photo was stitched together by NASA researchers from 142 images taken by the Mastcam-Z camera on 21 February. Photo: -/NASA/dpa - ATTENTION: editorial use only and only if the credit mentioned above is referenced in full

An image of Mars taken by China's Tianwen-1 unmanned probe is seen in this handout image released by China National Space Administration (CNSA) March 4, 2021. CNSA/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES.

Nasa releases first video of Perseverance rover’s dramatic Mars landing

Video footage from Nasa showed views captured from several cameras on the Perseverance Mars rover, including one pointed at the parachute and another at the Martian surface. Photo: Nasa via AP

First photo of Mars from UAE’s ‘Hope’ space probe

The first image of Mars taken by the Hope probe. Photo: EPA

epa08999520 A handout photo made available by the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Center (MBRSC) shows an illustration of the arrival of the Hope Probe to Mars orbit (issued on 09 February 2021). The Emirates Mars Mission Hope Probe is the first planetary mission led by an Arab-Islamic country and the space probe is to study the Martian atmosphere. EPA-EFE/MBRSC/UAE Space Agency HANDOUT HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES

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The six-wheeled vehicle took a 33-minute spin, travelling about 6.5 metres (21.3 feet)
The drive went ‘incredibly well’ and engineers are studying routes for longer voyages



The six-wheeled vehicle took a 33-minute spin, travelling about 6.5 metres (21.3 feet).


Technology

United States

Nasa’s Perseverance rover goes for first test drive on Mars

The six-wheeled vehicle took a 33-minute spin, travelling about 6.5 metres (21.3 feet) The drive went ‘incredibly well’ and engineers are studying routes for longer voyages

The six-wheeled vehicle took a 33-minute spin, travelling about 6.5 metres (21.3 feet)

The drive went ‘incredibly well’ and engineers are studying routes for longer voyages