Pasadena: NASA is testing a new experimental rover, ERNEST, that could help shape the future of robotic exploration on the Moon and Mars. The rover is designed to travel faster, handle difficult terrain and make more decisions on its own than traditional planetary rovers.
ERNEST stands for Exploration Rover for Navigating Extreme Sloped Terrain. The prototype has been developed by engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. It is currently being tested on Earth and has not been sent to Mars. NASA is using the rover as a research platform to study new technologies that may be used in future space missions.
One of the most important tests of ERNEST was carried out in the Colorado Desert of Southern California in March 2026. The testing campaign continued for seven days, during which the rover completed about 37 hours of driving. It covered around 16 miles, or nearly 26 kilometres, with only limited intervention from the engineering team.
The rover was tested during different times of the day, including daylight, dawn, dusk and nighttime. These changing light conditions allowed engineers to study how the rover navigates when visibility is difficult. Such conditions can help scientists prepare for future missions to places like the Moon’s polar regions, where long shadows and poor lighting can make navigation challenging.
ERNEST can travel at a speed of about 0.6 miles per hour, which is around one kilometre per hour. Although this may appear slow compared with vehicles on Earth, it is considered fast for a planetary rover moving across dangerous and unknown terrain. NASA says the prototype is about ten times faster than the highest navigation speeds achieved by the Curiosity and Perseverance rovers.
The new rover also has a different mobility system. Many previous Mars rovers use a six wheel design and a suspension system known as rocker bogie. ERNEST has four mesh wheels and an actively controlled suspension system. This allows the rover to adjust the position of its wheels and change the position of its body while travelling across difficult ground.
The rover can move over rocks, loose soil and steep slopes. It can also perform movements that are difficult for traditional rovers, including moving sideways. Engineers hope these abilities will help future robotic explorers reach areas that are currently too dangerous or difficult for existing vehicles.
Another major area of research is autonomous navigation. Communication between Earth and Mars can take several minutes in each direction depending on the positions of the two planets. This means engineers cannot control a Mars rover in real time as they would control a vehicle on Earth.
A more independent rover could study its surroundings, select a safe route and respond to unexpected obstacles without waiting for every instruction from mission controllers. ERNEST is helping NASA researchers test these advanced navigation and decision making systems.
The project is part of a wider effort to increase the independence of robotic explorers. NASA has also been developing new autonomous technology for the Perseverance rover already operating on Mars. One such system helps the rover determine its position by comparing images taken by its navigation cameras with maps created from images captured from orbit.
ERNEST remains an experimental rover and NASA has not announced that it will be sent to Mars or the Moon as part of a confirmed mission. However, the technologies being tested could influence the design of future planetary vehicles.
Future missions may require robots to travel much greater distances than current rovers while exploring rough landscapes, steep slopes and areas with limited sunlight. Greater speed and independence could allow scientists to examine more locations and collect more information during the limited life of a mission.
The latest tests show that NASA is exploring new ways to make future rovers faster, more flexible and more independent. ERNEST may never travel to another world in its present form, but the lessons learned from the prototype could play an important role in the next generation of robotic explorers on the Moon and Mars.