Perseverance now autonomously pinpoints its location on Mars.

NASA's Perseverance rover uses a new Mars Global Localization algorithm to locate itself on Mars autonomously to about 10 inches (25 cm); the capability was first used in routine operations on Feb. 2 and again on Feb. 16.

NASA's Perseverance rover can now determine its exact location on Mars without human help. The mission added a capability called Mars Global Localization that compares panoramic navigation-camera images to onboard orbital terrain maps. The algorithm runs on the rover's Helicopter Base Station processor and can locate the rover to roughly 10 inches (25 centimeters) in about two minutes. The system entered routine use on Feb. 2 and again on Feb. 16. Key details: - Mars Global Localization rapidly matches rover panoramic images with Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter terrain maps to determine position. - The process runs on the Helicopter Base Station (HBS) commercial processor that Perseverance used to communicate with the Ingenuity helicopter. - The algorithm typically pinpoints location within about 10 inches (25 centimeters) and completes in roughly two minutes. - The capability was first applied in regular mission operations on Feb. 2 and Feb. 16, and prior testing compared results from 264 previous rover stops with correct matches for each stop. - A "sanity check" runs the algorithm multiple times and a main rover computer verifies results; testing found about 25 damaged memory bits, which the team isolated. Summary: The new on-board localization reduces the need for daily Earth-based location fixes and lets Perseverance's AutoNav system continue driving longer distances without waiting for human confirmation. The team has also used generative artificial intelligence to help select waypoints for drives, and engineers say the methods and reliability checks could be applied to future missions, including work focused on the Moon.