Artificial intelligence entrusted with controlling the Perseverance Mars rover

Due to the large delay in the signal from Earth to Mars, which ranges from 3 to 22 minutes depending on the relative position of the planets in orbit, direct control of the rovers using a joystick is impossible. Therefore, until recently, control was carried out in semi-automatic mode – operators assessed the terrain and set navigation points along which the rover moved. That is why all Martian vehicles move so slowly, about 100 meters per day. In early December 2025, NASA conducted an experiment in which it instructed AI to create a route for the Perseverance rover. The agency reported this on January 30, 2026.

An unnamed generative AI model analyzed high-quality images of the Martian surface from the HiRISE camera installed on board the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, as well as a digital elevation model of the area where the Perseverance rover is currently located. After identifying critical terrain features—rock outcrops, dangerous boulder fields, sandy areas, and more—the AI ​​created a continuous path for the rover with marked waypoints without human intervention.

First, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which created and operates the rover, tested the AI ​​algorithms on a virtual model of Perseverance on Earth, then transmitted the data to Mars. With the loaded AI route, the rover covered 210 and 246 meters without any problems on December 8 and 10, 2025, respectively. This is not yet an absolute record, which is 411 meters per day, but a decent result.