Martian anniversary: the Perseverance rover and Ingenuity unmanned helicopter spent 1,000 days on the Red Planet
NASA reached a major milestone this week. The two newest vehicles have spent 1,000 Martian days on Mars.
Here's What We Know
The Perseverance rover and the Ingenuity unmanned aerial vehicle landed on the surface of the Red Planet on 18 February 2021. On 13 December 2023, the 1000th Martian day (sol) on Mars arrived for them. The duration of one sol is 24 hours and 37 minutes.
Sol in, sol out! I completed 1,000 Martian days...and my work is far from done.
- NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover (@NASAPersevere) December 13, 2023
Learn more about my unique rock collection, travels across Jezero Crater's ancient river and lake system, and what's next for my exploration plans: https://t.co/e5EiJBwQPU pic.twitter.com/FnkVEL5BCJ
Perseverance and Ingenuity landed at Jezero Crater. Since then, the rover has been searching for signs of life that may have existed on Mars billions of years ago. The rover is also collecting soil samples that will be brought back to Earth for study in about 10 years.
Ingenuity was originally designed to test the performance of rotorcraft in the thin atmosphere of Mars. Its mission was supposed to consist of five flights. However, the drone has survived more than one communication breakdown and has already made several dozen flights.
Source: NASA
