Today's wheel wiggle is one in a series of critical tests for Curiosity, which landed on Mars just over two weeks ago.

On Sunday, the rover for the first time. It zapped a fist-sized rock with 30 pulses of its million-watt laser beam and then captured the light from the resulting plasma to analyze the rock's makeup.

On Monday, NASA reported that Curiosity and checked its joints and motors by extending and flexing it before stowing it again.

Wednesday's test drive will be the next critical step in testing the rover to make sure it's ready to take its first trek. That first trip is expected to take Curiosity to Glenelg, a spot that NASA scientists are eager to examine because it's at the intersection of three different kinds of terrain.

NASA expects that it will take Curiosity three to four weeks to reach Glenelg.