This week, NASA reached an important milestone. The two newest vehicles have spent 1000 Martian days on Mars.
What is known
The Perseverance rover and the Ingenuity unmanned aerial vehicle landed on the surface of the Red Planet on February 18, 2021. December 13, 2023 marked the 1000th Martian day (sol) on Mars for them. The duration of one salt is 24 hours and 37 minutes.
Sol in, sol out! I have passed 1000 Martian days… and my work is far from over.
Learn more about my unique rock collection, travels through the ancient river and lake system of Jezero Crater, and what my future plans are for my exploration work: https://t.co/e5EiJBwQPU pic.twitter.com/FnkVEL5BCJ
– NASA’s Perseverance Mars Rover (@NASAPersevere) December 13, 2023
Perseverance and Ingenuity landed in the Jezero crater. Since then, the rover has been searching for signs of life that could have existed on Mars billions of years ago. In addition, the rover collects soil samples that will be delivered to Earth for study in about 10 years.
Ingenuity was originally designed to test the performance of rotorcraft in the rarefied atmosphere of Mars. The 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.
