# Mars Is Too Far to Drive in Real Time. Now What?

- slug: mars-is-too-far-to-drive-in-real-time-now-what
- date: 2026-04-15
- category: Space & Aerospace

Mars commands take up to 22 min each way. A Swiss-Dutch team tested a legged robot with two instruments that picks its own targets — completing multi-target missions 2-3x faster than Earth-guided rovers in a lab analogue. The autonomy stack is the real product.

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