By NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
Publication Date: 2026-01-30 12:00:00
But for Perseverance’s trips on the mission’s 1,707 and 1,709 Martian days, or brines, the team did something different: Generative AI provided analysis of high-resolution orbital images from the HiRISE (High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment) camera aboard NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and terrain slope data from digital elevation models. After identifying critical terrain features – bedrock, outcrops, dangerous boulder fields, sand ripples, and the like – a continuous path of waypoints was created.
To ensure that the AI’s instructions were fully compatible with the rover’s flight software, the engineering team also processed the driving commands through JPL’s “digital twin” (virtual replica of the rover), checking over 500,000 telemetry variables before sending commands to Mars.
On December 8, Perseverance traveled 689 feet (210 meters) with generative AI waypoints in memory. Two days later, it traveled 807 feet (246 meters).
“The…
