Driven by Curiosity

The newest mars rover, curiosity, lifted off from Cape Canaveral in an atlas V, and NASA mission control received a signal telling them that the rover was on its way to mars.  It is looking for microscopic proof of life on mars, past or present.  Curiosity is the largest rover to land on mars' surface, being about the size of an SUV, and weighing about 1 ton, 5 times the weight of its predecessors.  The rover is nine feet across, seven feet high, and had a seven foot arm.  It has been described as "Rover on Steroids" by NASA officials, and it will join its fellow rover, opportunity, in analyzing rock samples on the surface of the red planet, replacing Spirit, the rover who died in one of mars' harsh winters. You can read more about it here.