NASA's Perseverance rover completes marathon distance on Mars

It is only the second robotic explorer from the agency to reach this mark beyond Earth

NASA's Perseverance rover has covered the equivalent of a full marathon on the surface of Mars.

The rover reached the milestone while searching for signs of ancient life in the Jezero Crater region of Mars.

It is only the second rover in NASA history to travel a marathon's distance on another planet, according to technology news site Engadget.

NASA said this week that the rover has set a record by covering 26.2 miles (42.2km), the equivalent of a full marathon, five years after landing on Mars.The achievement is remarkable given that the rover's top speed under the most favourable conditions is just 0.1mph.

It’s a Martian marathon!

NASA's Perseverance Rover has surpassed a total distance of 26.2 miles (42.195 kilometers) of travel on the Red Planet. It crossed the milestone while exploring intriguing ancient terrain to the west of Jezero Crater. pic.twitter.com/kWd7iSImUM

— NASA JPL (@NASAJPL) June 17, 2026

According to NASA, Perseverance reached the marathon milestone on Jun 14.

"Perseverance is only the second explorer to travel the distance of a marathon on another world, following NASA's Opportunity rover, which accomplished the feat in 2015," the agency writes.