Nasa's Perseverance rover

Nasa's Perseverance rover takes its first drive on Mars

Pictures downloaded to Earth on Friday indicate the excursion was a short roll and turn.

It's two weeks now since the one-tonne robot landed on the Red Planet.

Engineers have spent the time commissioning the vehicle and its many systems, including its instruments and robotic arm.

Perseverance's mission is to explore a near-equatorial crater called Jezero, to search for evidence of past life.

This will involve roving some 15km over the coming Martian year (roughly two Earth years).