. >> reporter: matt gilener's work from home station at home looks relatively relatable for a job that certainly is not. >> i'm the lead rover driver. >> reporter: rover as in the mars curiosity rover, and gilener is now driving it on the red planet from his living room. he's part of a 30-plus person team that commands the spacecraft. and for the first time ever, all the rover's operations are being handled remotely from makeshift home command centers. >> i'm used to being able to t literally turnover my shoulder and talk to a fellow rover driver. hey, what do you think of this plan i'm driving? instead i have to rely on screen sharing over network connections that sometimes can be slow. >> reporter: still, they're making it work. so well, in fact, that on the first day of remote operations, the team successfully commanded one of the rover's most complicated jobs. drilling a rock sample on mars. >> it's kind of an interesting change of pace being able to do the job while you have a pet 3 feet away, or you stop to make lunch in your own kitchen. >> reporter: the mission so far remaining