Curiosity took its first test drivearound the gravel-strewn Martian terrain Wednesday, preparation for theultimate road trip to find out if the red planet's environment could havesupported life.
The six-wheel NASA rover did not stray far from the spot where it landed morethan two weeks ago. It rolled forward about 15 feet (4.5 meters), rotated to aright angle and reversed a short distance, leaving tracks on the ancient soil.
Mission managers were ecstatic that the maiden voyage of the $2.5 billionmission was glitch-free.
"It couldn't be more important," said project manager PeterTheisinger at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. "We built a rover. Sounless the rover roves, we really haven't accomplished anything ... It's a bigmoment."
The short spin came a day after Curiosity successfully wiggled its wheels totest its steering capabilities.
Curiosity landed in Gale Crater near the Martian equator Aug. 5 to explorewhether the environment once supported microbial life. The touchdown site hasbeen named Bradbury Landing in honor of the late "The MartianChronicles" author Ray Bradbury, who would have turned 92 on Wednesday.
The rover's ultimate destination is Mount Sharp, a towering mountain that loomsfrom the ancient crater floor. Signs of past water have been spotted at thebase, which provides a starting point to hunt for the chemical building blocksof life.
Before Curiosity treks toward the mountain, it will take a detour to anintriguing spot 1,300 (400 meters) feet away where it will drill into bedrock.With the test drive out of the way, Curiosity was expected to stay at its newposition for several days before making its first big drive — a trip that willtake as long as a month and a half.
Curiosity won't head to Mount Sharp until the end of the year.
Rover driver Matt Heverly said the first drive took about 16 minutes with mostof the time used to take pictures. Heverly said the wheels did not sink muchinto the ground, which appeared firm.
"We should have smooth sailing ahead of us," he said.
After an action-packed landing that delicately lowered it to the surface withnylon cables, Curiosity has entered a slow streak. Since the car-size rover isthe most sophisticated spacecraft sent to Mars, engineers have taken their timeto make sure the rover is in tiptop shape and that its high-tech tools workbefore it delves into its mission.
Curiosity joins the rover Opportunity, which has been exploring craters inMars' southern hemisphere since 2004. Opportunity's twin, Spirit, fell silentin 2010 after getting stuck in a sand trap.
Earlier this week, Curiosity exercised its robotic arm for the first time,flexing its joints and motors before engineers stowed it again. Weeks ofadditional tests were planned before it can drill and scoop up Martian soil.
The nuclear-powered rover has been tracking levels of dangerous radiation onthe Martian surface in an effort to guide future astronaut landings. It alsopowered up its weather station, taking hourly readings of air and groundtemperatures, pressure and wind conditions.
Over the weekend, it fired its laser at a humble rock to study what it's madeof. Unsurprisingly, the zapped rock was typical of other Martian rocks, made ofbasalt.
During the checkups, scientists discovered a damaged wind sensor, possiblyafter it was hit by rocks that landed on the rover's instrument deck duringlanding. Deputy project scientist Ashwin Vasavada said the broken sensor willnot jeopardize the mission since there's a spare.
Since nailing the daredevil landing, the rover team has been acknowledged by PresidentBarack Obama. Gov. Jerry Brown, who declared Wednesday as "Space Day"visited the lab and donned 3-D glasses to view an animation of Curiosity'sfirst drive on a big screen in the control room.