NASA’s Perseverance rover completes the first AI-planned drive on Mars

The team behind NASA's six-wheeled Mars explorer tested a vision-enabled artificial intelligence system to map a safe route across the Martian surface without relying on human route planners.

NASA's Perseverance rover has now completed the first drives on another planet that were planned by artificial intelligence. The milestone demonstration took place on Dec. 8 and 10 and was led by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. During the test, generative AI was used to select waypoints for the rover, a complex planning task that is normally handled by human experts on Earth.

"This demonstration shows how far our capabilities have advanced and broadens how we will explore other worlds," said NASA Administrator ...