And that's exactly what NASA engineers say is happening today.

"The surface mission of Curiosity has now begun," Michael Watkins, a mission systems manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said during a news conference today. "For a long time, we knew we had to get through some big events. Launch was a big one for us and landing was a big one for us. We have ended one phase of the mission..., but another part has just begun."

Now, he said, NASA can - exploration.

"It's really the fundamental reason of the rover," said Watkins. "We're just starting that mission.... This is our new home, at least for a while. We need to explore it and take a look around."

is tasked with a two-year mission designed to gather evidence that Mars is or has been , probably in microbial form.