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February 1st, 2026
Image credit: Mars Guy/NASA/JPL-Caltech
Mars Guy details how driving a rover on Mars requires humans on Earth to plan the route.
“Self-driving cars on Earth can take advantage of GPS to navigate,” Mars Guy points out, “but Mars has no global positioning system, so rover drivers have to set waypoints manually.”
Image credit: Mars Guy/NASA/JPL-Caltech
AI navigation
Now Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been given that task. See how NASA’s Perseverance rover was AI navigated across Martian terrain!
This Mars Guy episode details how Claude, an AI model, planned the rover’s route, using orbital and ground images to avoid hazards. Watch the AI’s route planning in action, contrasted with the actual drive.
Go to video at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wubO9j1keNA
Also, go to this Jet Propulsion Laboratory release Perseverance’s use of AI at:
https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasas-perseverance-rover-completes-first-ai-planned-drive-on-mars/
Posted in Space News
