Summary Reader Response 3
In the articles, "Mars 2020 mission Perseverance rover" (n.d.), and "NASA’s Self-Driving Perseverance Mars Rover ‘Takes the Wheel’" (2021), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) documents the operation of the upgraded auto navigation system called AutoNav for the Perseverance rover to traverse the Martian surface for signs of ancient life along with locating and transporting sample collections of rock back to Earth for analysis. The article states that the AutoNav enables the rover to autonomously drive at faster speeds of up to 120 meters per hour while performing 3D mapping of upcoming terrain, hazard identification, and trajectory planning for obstacle avoidance, which consequently reduces the time taken to reach its destination as it can now travel through complex terrains instead of going around them. NASA also mentions that the AutoNav includes ENav which is an enhanced navigation software that aids in more accurate hazard detection of small