Perseverance footage shows the landing that started it all

The Times reports that improved self-driving software lets Perseverance choose its own route across Mars; the footage shows the day it first arrived.

On air: Vera Bullock and Hank Ledger on The Five O'Clock
Published 5:35 PM ET, Tuesday, October 13, 2026
Updated 6:24 AM ET · aired 7 times

Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

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Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Photo: Perseverance (rover) — Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

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Viral Video Breakdown“I care about the parking. Nobody tells you the hard part of driving anywhere is the landing, and this one nailed it.”Vera Bullock▶ Full · 0:47Perseverance Mars Driving Record: Judged on Its ParkingViral Video Breakdown · 6:24 AM ET

At a glance

First reported by The New York Times: “NASA’s Perseverance Rover Sets a Mars Driving Record”.
Covered on BBN on Tuesday, October 13, 2026, at 5:35 PM ET on The Five O'Clock, by Vera Bullock and Hank Ledger; aired 7 times.
Topics: Mars.
BBN covered this story before: Roman Temple to Mars Unearthed Beneath Forest Floor (October 10).

The real story

The reporting behind this segment. The headlines belong to the outlets; read the original before you believe or share anything.

The New York TimesNASA’s Perseverance Rover Sets a Mars Driving Record

What BBN said about it

Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorThe New York Times says Perseverance has now set a Mars driving record because its self-driving software can pick its own path, and this is NASA's footage of the day it arrived.
Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorLook at this, the parachute is out, and that is a little robot about to start its whole life!
Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorWatch the rover below the descent stage. It's hanging there while the camera cuts between it and the ground.
Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorHere it comes, and there go the dust clouds! It's a messy entrance, but every big career starts with one.
Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorRun it back. Dust, then the rover sitting on the Martian terrain.
Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorIt stuck the landing, and now it picks its own path. I'm so proud I could cry.
Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorIt arrived under a parachute, and now it drives itself. It has never once asked for directions.

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