--- title: "NASA’s New Mars Rover Is Officially on the Move" description: "NASA's Perseverance Mars rover is officially on the move.Recently uploaded images show the six-wheeled robot's tracks imprinted in the dust around it." date: "2021-03-05" modified: "2021-03-05" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/nasa-mars-rover-officially-move" categories: - "Astronomy" - "Mars" - "NASA" - "Space" tags: - "mars" - "NASA" - "perseverance" - "the digest" --- # NASA’s New Mars Rover Is Officially on the Move ![NASA's Perseverance Mars rover is officially on the move.Recently uploaded images show the six-wheeled robot's tracks imprinted in the dust around it.]() *\Image: NASA\* ## First Steps NASA's Perseverance Mars rover is officially on the move. [Recently uploaded images]() show the six-wheeled robot's tracks imprinted in the surrounding Martian dust. The rover [first landed]() in the Jezero Crater on February 18. Since then, it's been [testing its various scientific instruments]() and stretching its seven feet-foot arm. "A quick test of my steering, and things are looking good as I get ready to roll," the industrious robot [tweeted]() from its official Twitter account. "My team and I are keen to get moving. One step at a time." ## New Kicks Over the next two Earth years or so, Perseverance is planning to cover anywhere [between three to 12 miles](), exploring the surrounding area as it searches for signs of ancient life. Perseverance's six wheels, roughly 20 inches in diameter, are made of aluminum and feature cleats for traction. NASA made sure to make them more resistant to wear and tear on the Martian surface after the wheels of the rover's predecessor Curiosity's [looked worse for wear]() after spending years exploring the Martian surface. By Earth standards, Perseverance moves extremely slowly, at only [152 meters per hour](), or less than 0.1 mph. But that also means it consumes less than 200 watts, a fraction of the 150,000 watts a 200-horsepower car engine consumes, according to NASA. https://twitter.com/NASAPersevere/status/1367643559063523329 **READ MORE:** [Nasa's Perseverance rover takes its first drive on Mars]() \[*BBC*\] **More on Perseverance:** *[NASA’s Mars Rover “Percy” Stretches Its Arm for the First Time]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()