It’s been two weeks since NASA’s latest Mars rover landed on the Red Planet. At the end of last week, it was time for the rover to test its driveability on Mars, and NASA reports that it is now satisfactory.

On March 4, the steady force moved 4 m forward, made a detour, and then reversed 2.5 m back to its landing site. Anais Sarifian from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory talks about the first mobility test of persistence on Mars:

“When it comes to wheelbarrows on other planets, there are the first few instances where the importance of the first drive is considered. This is our first opportunity to ‘kick the tires’ and get out of perseverance for a spin. The rover’s six-wheel drive has responded well. We are sure now.

Perseverance has now abandoned its landing site, although it has not traveled far, and NASA has named the landing site. The site will henceforth go by the nickname “Octavia E. Butler”. It’s the name NASA used to pay homage to the American science fiction author of the same name. Butler has authored a number of science-fiction books, including “Kindred”, “Bloodchild”, “Speech Sounds”, “Sovereign’s Parable”, “The Parable of the Talents”, and “The Patternist”.