Each rover, ranked by distance traveled on the moon and Mars

Launching a rover into house and touchdown it safely on an alien floor is tough sufficient. Then you must get the factor to really drive.

People put seven rovers on the moon and 6 on Mars. For the reason that 1970s, they’ve coated 137 miles. 4 of them are nonetheless cruising: NASA’s Curiosity and Perseverance rovers on Mars, and the China Nationwide Area Administration’s (CNSA) Zhurong rover on Mars and Yutu-2 rover on the moon. The Soviet Union was the one different nation to land a rover on the moon and Mars.

Within the spirit of pleasant competitors, we have ranked the 13 rovers on how far they’ve traveled on the moon and Mars.

13. Sojourner

The little rover that would, Sojourner was a comparatively small car that by no means ventured very removed from its authentic touchdown website. Credit score: NASA

The primary rover to make it to the floor of Mars, 1997’s Sojourner weighed simply 25 kilos and stood below 11 inches tall. After its seven-month journey by house and deployment on Mars, the rover was energetic for 83 sols (Mars days), equal to 85 Earth days, and drove a complete of 330 ft. It acted as a take a look at for wheel designs and took readings of rock compositions.

12. Yutu

Yutu was the China Nationwide Area Administration’s first rover mission, touchdown on the moon in late 2013. Geared up with ground-penetrating radar and devices to measure soil composition, Yutu solely traveled 377 ft earlier than it ceased transferring in early 2014. Regardless that it couldn’t transfer, it stored amassing knowledge till 2016.

11. Zhurong

Zhurong captured this self-portrait with its lander after arriving on Mars. Credit score: china nationwide house administration

Launched proper across the similar time as Perseverance, Zhurong traveled to Mars as a part of the China Nationwide Area Administration’s Tianwen-1 mission, which additionally included an orbiter and a lander for the rover. After orbiting the planet for months, Zhurong touched down in Could. Because it explores an space roughly 1,00Zero miles away from Perseverance, it is looking for indicators of previous life in addition to pockets of subterranean ice deposits, which may show helpful in future crewed missions to the pink planet.

10. Yutu-2

Yutu-2 is captured by the Chang’e Three lander rolling on the far aspect of the moon. Credit score: cnsa

Yutu-2 landed on the far aspect of the moon in early 2019 with the same however improved payload to Yutu and has put in 2,325 ft, or about 0.Four miles, of driving as of Could 2021. Yutu-2 remains to be working.

9. Perseverance

NASA’s Perseverance rover captured a selfie together with its helicopter good friend Ingenuity by stitching collectively a bunch of images. Credit score: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

Touchdown in February 2021, NASA’s Perseverance rover has put in simply over one mile of distance on the pink planet. Exploring an historic lakebed within the seek for proof of previous life, Perseverance is outfitted with a variety of devices for taking photos, exactly analyzing rocks and soil, and inspecting each the native ambiance and geography. Perseverance’s important objective is to prep a pattern of the floor to be picked and returned to Earth in a future mission. Percy additionally introduced alongside the Ingenuity helicopter. Flying by the skinny Martian ambiance, the drone has coated greater than a mile within the air.

8. Spirit

Touchdown on Mars in 2004, the twin rovers Spirit and Alternative had been a part of NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover mission. Spirit and Alternative had an identical designs with an identical cameras and scientific devices for inspecting rocks, soil, and mud. Each rovers had been designed to final 90 sols, and each exceeded that concentrate on. Spirit lasted longer than 5 Earth years and traveled 4.Eight miles earlier than getting caught.

7. Lunokhod 1

The beefy Lunokhod rovers from the Soviet house program had been groundbreaking autos within the historical past of house exploration. Credit score: NASA

The Lunokhod 1 had the primary honor of driving outdoors Earth when it arrived on the moon in 1970 courtesy of the Soviet house program. Working for longer than 10 Earth months, it method overshot the three months it was designed for and coated 6.5 miles. Alongside the best way, it beamed images of the moon again to Earth and gathered knowledge on the soil.

6. Curiosity

Certainly one of Curiosity’s selfies from his time on Mars. Credit score: Getty Photographs/NASA

Curiosity landed on Mars in 2012 and remains to be chugging alongside, racking up 16.2 miles as of early August. Curiosity was designed to seek for proof of previous life and look at Mars’ ambiance and geology. For now, the rover doesn’t present indicators of slowing down.

5, 4, 3. Lunar Roving Automobile

Apollo 15 astronaut James Irwin is pictured on the moon beside the primary Lunar Roving Automobile, captured by David Scott. Mount Hadley looms within the background. Credit score: nasa

NASA’s first rover to land on the moon was pushed by folks. From 1971 to 1972, NASA put three Lunar Roving Autos on the moon. The astronauts from Apollo 15 drove 17.Three miles. The following one ventured simply 16.5 miles. Apollo 17 astronauts pushed the third rover 22.Three miles, cranking the velocity as much as a report 11.2 miles per hour.

2. Lunokhod 2

The Soviet house program’s second lunar rover touched down on the moon in 1973, and though it solely labored for about 4 months, it managed to clock in 24 miles. Like Lunokhod 1, the sequel despatched photos again to Earth and carried out numerous assessments on the moon’s soil. It was the final rover despatched by the Soviet house program, the final rover of the ’70s, and the top of the primary period of house exploration. There would not be one other rover efficiently launched and landed till the ’90s.

1. Alternative

An artist’s rendering of the Alternative rover on the floor of Mars. Spirit and Alternative are an identical. Credit score: NASA/jpl-caltech

After touchdown on the alternative aspect of Mars as its twin Spirit, Alternative made all of it the best way to 2018. Outshining its fellow rover and all different rovers in historical past to this point, Alternative clocked the longest distance ever pushed by a rover outdoors of Earth: 28.1 miles.