NASA's Curiosity Rover Drives in Reverse en Route to Science Waypoint

NASA's Curiosity Mars rover is on the move again, this week having completed its longest drive in months - while using its reverse drive function.

On Tuesday the rover drove 329 feet (100 meters), which was the longest trek it had done using its reverse drive mode, as well as the longest distance covered in more than three months, NASA said in a statement Friday. To date, the Curiosity rover has driven 3.24 miles (5.21 kilometers) since its August 2012 landing.

Mission operators drove the rover in reverse to test a theory that its wheels would sustain less damage while driving over terrain studded with sharp rocks. The test, however was done over smooth terrain, as planned by NASA.

"We wanted to have backwards driving in our validated toolkit because there will be parts of our route that will be more challenging," said Curiosity Project Manager Jim Erickson of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.

The decision to test the reverse-driving theory stemmed from a report at the end of last year that the rover's wheels had sustained more damage than anticipated by this point in its mission. But to get to the smooth terrain to test the rover's ability to cover long distances in reverse, the Curiosity had to be driven across a 3-foot-tall (1 meter) dune. That part of the rover's journey occurred Feb. 9.

"After we got over the dune, we began driving in terrain that looks like what we expected based on the orbital data. There are fewer sharp rocks, many of them are loose, and in most places there's a little bit of sand cushioning the vehicle," Erickson said.

These driving tests are taking place en route to the Curiosity's primary destination, Mt. Sharp, where water-related minerals have been detected from orbit.

Along the way, Curiosity will pass a science waypoint codenamed Kimberley. As the rover spends time conducting experiments at Kimberley, mission operators on Earth will be determining the best route to take to Mt. Sharp.

"We have changed our focus to look at the big picture for getting to the slopes of Mount Sharp, assessing different potential routes and different entry points to the destination area," Erickson said. "No route will be perfect; we need to figure out the best of the imperfect ones."