Mars Rover Preparing for First Major Drive

This image from NASA's Curiosity rover shows the open inlet where powered rock and soil samples will be funneled down for analysis. (NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS)
The Mars rover Curiosity will undergo a final round of mechanical checks Thursday before making its first lengthy drive across the surface of the Red Planet.

Engineers with the U.S. space agency NASA have kept Curiosity parked in one spot for the past week while testing its sophisticated instruments, including a high-resolution camera and a tool designed to analyze a Martian rock's chemical makeup.  Tests have also been run on Curiosity's 2.1-meter-long arm, which will scoop up dirt and rock for processing.

This image shows the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) on NASA's Curiosity rover, with the Martian landscape in the background. Image was taken by Curiosity's Mast Camera, Sept. 8, 2012, UTC). (NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS)

​​​In addition to final tests on the robotic arm, engineers will also use Curiosity's camera to record video of the Martian moon Phobos passing in front of the sun.

Mission manager Jennifer Trosper told reporters Wednesday that Curiosity has "performed almost flawlessly" during the tests.  Trosper said the six-wheeled rover will start to "drive, drive, drive" towards a site dubbed Glenelg where three types of terrain intersect.  Scientists hope to find rock and soil suitable enough for Curiosity's first sample testing.

This photo, taken by the Curiosity rover, shows the layered geology of Mars.

​​Curiosity landed in the planet's Gale Crater last month to begin a two-year mission to determine if the Martian environment has ever been hospitable to life.  It has traveled on the Martian surface about 109 meters since then, with its ultimate destination Mount Sharp, a mountain rising from the floor of the crater.