NASA has given the Perseverance rover the ability to independently select targets for collecting samples, which should accelerate the development of science on Mars. Without a direct order from Earth, the rover fired at two targets with its SuperCam instrument, Space reports.. com.

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If Perseverance chooses targets himself, then he can shoot at them on the same day.. In this case, the team will be able to immediately receive data on unusual compositions and decide on further research before the rover moves on..

Perseverance's self-targeting software is called Autonomous Exploration for Gathering Enhanced Science (AEGIS).

“AEGIS requests Navcam images and then analyzes it to find rocks and prioritize analysis based on size, brightness and a range of other characteristics.. It initiates a sequence in which SuperCam fires its laser to determine the chemical composition of one or two priority targets selected from Navcam images,” Vince said..

AEGIS testing started in March. In May, the rover took pictures that showed the places where it used the laser. The tests were successful, so the team plans to use AEGIS "

Previously, the Martian helicopter Ingenuity recovered from a communication failure that occurred recently, and transmitted to Earth an image of a ridge on the Red Planet..