of mars to understand the planet, not only in terms of the science but what it can tell us in terms of what would be the safest way to get to mars and have humans go there and explore. reporter: again, curiosity s plutonium powered so it basically can stay on the road for years, potentially. they re hoping for two years. as we know from some of the other successful rovers, it could be out there more than that. it s got funnels, test tubes, magnifiers, mass spectrometers, gas ovens, lasers. it s equipped with the best and brightest and it will be very exciting. for those waiting for the pictures. the first ones to come in to nasa will be kind of grayish black and white pictures because that s the one camera they are -havethat s mounted on curiosit. if it lands successfully which is a very difficult situation, there s been about 44 missions to mars and only a third have been successful. if it lands correctly the way they want, it will take a couple of days to put up the masts and turn