A Mars rover prototype travelled 220 metres across Spain's Tabernas desert over eight days, following commands from a science team about 1200 kilometres away, the European Space Agency reported. The exercise tested operations planned for the ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover, which is scheduled to land on Mars in 2030.

The September trial brought together the prototype, called Charlie, and around 100 scientists and engineers from across Europe. The team at the Rover Operations Control Centre in Turin, Italy, used images, subsurface radar and spectral data to choose targets in the search for evidence of past life. According to ESA, Charlie once drove more than 60 metres without an operator at the wheel, with less than a 1% navigation error.

Organisers said the simulation exposed realistic difficulties, including judging a slope's steepness from rover data and rain that interrupted testing. A next field test in summer 2027 is planned to add complexity, including coordination with the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter.