Mars rover Perseverance goes for a 'spin'

Washington – The Mars rover Perseverance has successfully conducted its first test drive on the red planet, the U.S. space agency NASA said Friday. The six-wheeled rover traveled about 6.5 meters (21.3 feet) in 33 minutes on Thursday, NASA said. It drove 4 meters forward, turned in place 150 degrees to the left, and then backed up 2.5 meters, leaving tire tracks in the Martian dust. "This was our first chance to'kick the tires' and take Perseverance out for a spin," said Anais Zarifian, Perseverance mobility test bed engineer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. Zarifian said the test drive went "incredibly well" and represented a "huge milestone for the mission and the mobility team."