this post was submitted on 02 Feb 2026
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NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover
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On the plains of Jezero, the secrets of Mars' past await us! Follow for the latest news, updates, pretty pics, and community discussion on NASA and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's most ambitious mission to Mars!
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Excellent, very detailed episode by Steve Ruff (Mars Guy). I wish we had more access to the RP visualization tools (used by the rover drivers) that are shown off in this video.
I am however surprised that JPL allowed this use of the AI in the middle of a ripple field (you may wish to view a recent drive map to see what I mean - the AI drove on sols 1707 and 1709). The drive outcomes were good, and apparently the RPs are enthusiastic about the tool, but megaripples are a clear drive hazard for wheeled vehicles. I guess if they were going to run this experiment, they would do it when the rover was making moves purely for traversal to the next target-rich area, and not on science-oriented drives, like the last two.
... Of course this means that we're now allowing AI to drive a state-of-the-art, nuclear-powered, laser-equipped planetary vehicle which is hunting for any and all signs of life in order to... identify them. I am of course ~~terrified~~ totally unconcerned.
He says they verified on a digital twin before running IRL. Seems pretty responsible to me.
Sometimes neural nets are a good solution to the problem