NASA has released photographs showing the holes in the tires of its latest Mars rover, Perseverance.

The holes are a result of the rover's scientific exploration on the Red Planet. Since February 2021, the rover has been on the Martian surface, facing various challenges, including tire wear.

Perseverance, which is the successor to the Curiosity rover, has been documenting its exploration of Mars, searching for evidence of ancient microbial life. The discovery of such life would be a significant scientific achievement, as it would provide evidence of life existing outside of Earth.

NASA has taken to its blog to showcase the costs that come with this exploration, and the price of traversing Mars' terrain is that you will eventually get holes in your tires. The right-middle wheel of the rover is in the worst shape, with a hole so big that you can see the mechanisms inside the wheel.

Despite the tire wear, NASA teams analyze the rover's path ahead and plot it out with the priority of minimal resistance to reduce further damage to the wheels.