Perseverance gains Mars GPS autonomy

PASADENA, Calif., Feb. 23, 2026 — NASA says the Perseverance rover can now pinpoint its own position on Mars using a new Mars Global Localization system that lets it continue drives without waiting for Earth-based confirmation, NASA said.

The algorithm compares panoramic navigation-camera images to orbital terrain maps and runs on the rover’s Helicopter Base Station processor, locating Perseverance within about 10 inches (25 centimeters) in roughly two minutes; it was used during routine operations on Feb. 2 and Feb. 16, JPL reported.

Mars Global Localization

With no GPS satellites at Mars, Perseverance has relied on visual odometry and human mapping support, but small errors can grow until the rover’s position is off by more than 100 feet (35 meters), NASA Science said.

To fix that, the rover takes a 360-degree panorama, converts it into an orthomosaic and matches it with imagery from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter; the first successful test was in a site called “Mala Mala” on the rim of Jezero Crater, NASA Science reported.

From panoramas to position

Engineers developed the system in 2023 and validated it against imagery from 264 prior rover stops, successfully locating Perseverance every time, JPL said.

The upgrade complements the rover’s AutoNav self-driving system and should let Perseverance travel farther each day while reducing the workload for planners on Earth, Phys.org reported.

Autonomy boost

“We’ve given the rover a new ability,” said JPL engineer Jeremy Nash, calling it a long-standing robotics problem now solved in space, JPL said.

A key enabler is the Helicopter Base Station computer, built with a commercial processor originally used to communicate with the Ingenuity helicopter and capable of running far faster than the rover’s radiation-hardened main computers, Phys.org noted.

Because Mars is about 140 million miles (225 million kilometers) from Earth on average, command delays can last a Martian day or longer, so on-board localization should accelerate exploration, Space.com reported.

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