A NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory presenter explains how Perseverance determines its position on Mars and plans longer drives autonomously.
For five years, Perseverance relied on people on Earth to help determine its precise position. Mars Global Localization now lets the rover calculate where it is on its own.
Perseverance captures panoramic views and converts them into overhead images. An onboard algorithm matches those images against maps made from an orbiting spacecraft's observations to estimate the rover's location.
The localization system uses a commercial processor that was first used to communicate with the Ingenuity helicopter. It runs more than 100 times faster than Perseverance's main computer.
The team is also using generative AI to help create driving waypoints. The approach draws on decades of Mars knowledge and could let the rover travel farther without human direction, supporting broader exploration and science.
The team is looking toward lunar missions, where difficult lighting and long, cold nights make precise spacecraft positioning especially important.
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Kim Hambuchen of NASA Johnson Space Center discusses how human-robot teams could support future space exploration missions, with examples from NASA’s current operations and planned work toward the Moon and Mars.
