NASA's Record-Breaking Mars Rover Is Way Better At Self-Driving Than Earth Cars

At a blistering top speed of 0.1 miles per hour, Perseverance is shattering what scientists thought possible from a Mars rover. Well, I'll remind you that it's doing this on a whole other goddamn planet, often by itself. A vehicle 127 million miles away is making its own decisions on how to cross a treacherous and truly alien landscape all on its own, and it's doing it at an incredible (for a rover anyway) 300 yards-a-day pace. Normally, special operators use headsets and 3D monitors to help navigate the rover over the rocky Martian landscape, which is very cool and sci-fi on its own. But now that Perseverance has a bit of a stretch of travel ahead of it, NASA is letting the little guy make his own way in the world while putting the pedal to the metal.