NASA Applied Claude to Chart the Perseverance Rover's Route in Jezero Crater

In December 2025, NASA's Perseverance rover traveled about 400 meters over rocky terrain in Jezero Crater on Mars. The route was charted by Claude, a large language model developed by Anthropic. This was the first time NASA used AI to create a route for its planetary rover.

What is Known

The route was constructed using the Claude Code tool — a programming agent that was previously provided with years of data collected by the rover. Claude worked step by step: forming series of checkpoints every 10 meters, then analyzing and refining them. All route points were verified by engineers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) using an internal simulator. This is the same tool used for verifying daily commands for Perseverance.

NASA notes that every rover movement is planned with risks in mind: slippage, overturning, wheel blockage, or "getting stuck." Until now, engineers manually created a chain of navigation points based on satellite images and rover camera data. With Claude, the final route required only minor adjustments — partly because engineers had access to new photos from the site that were not available to Claude at the planning stage.

According to NASA, the new approach can reduce the time required for route planning and ensure stability in their quality. This, in turn, opens up the possibility of more frequent trips and the collection of more scientific data.

NASA does not rule out further use of AI for similar tasks in the future. The agency's report states that autonomous AI systems may be used in the exploration of remote areas of the Solar System.

Source: NASA