NASA's Perseverance rover broke the record for longest distance driven on another world on Oct. 11, reaching 45.22 kilometers (28.10 miles). Perseverance accomplished in about five and a half years what Opportunity took approximately 15 years to achieve. Vandi Verma, chief engineer of robotic operations for Perseverance at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, has explained that AutoNav, the rover's self-driving system, has carried the rover more than 90% of the way.
NASA's asteroid-hunting space telescope NEO Surveyor has completed solar array integration onto its sunshade. The 6-meter structure carries 864 solar cells producing up to 2 kilowatts of power and blocks sunlight to allow the spacecraft to search for near-Earth objects hiding in the Sun's glare. NEO Surveyor is scheduled to launch in 2027.
ESA's planetary defense mission Hera captured an image of asteroids Didymos and Dimorphos on Oct. 18 from 1,280 kilometers away, resolving them as separate objects. Detailed images of Dimorphos, the asteroid NASA's DART mission knocked off course, are expected on Nov. 25.
Europe's Space Rider prototype underwent an Oct. 6 landing test when released from a helicopter to test its reentry system. The reentry system ultimately failed during the test, though ESA has stated the project remains on track. Space Rider is designed to carry scientific experiments to orbit for up to two months before returning them to Earth.
The Vera C. Rubin Observatory found its first dwarf planet candidate, 2026 ED138, a large, bright object beyond Pluto's orbit. Observations suggest it measures 600 to 1,500 kilometers across, making it the largest object found in this region and likely large enough to be round.
NASA's Voyager 1 will become the first human-made object to travel one light-day from Earth next month. On Nov. 18 at 8:00 p.m. ET, Voyager Project Manager Suzanne Dodd, Mission Manager Kareem Badaruddin, and Project Scientist Linda Spilker will share stories during a livestream. Space artist Don Davis will reveal a new work commemorating this achievement.