Curiosity, , has been on the surface of Mars for just over a week. Since Saturday, on the rover's main and backup computers, a necessary step before the Curiosity can begin roving.

Engineers jokingly dubbed the upgrade Curiosity's "brain transplant."

"I'm happy to say that we have completed the flight software transition," said Michael Watkins, a mission systems manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). "It came off pretty much without a hitch."

The new software was uploaded onto Curiosity during its to Mars. While the new software sat dormant, the spacecraft used flight software optimized to and safely land on target in the Gale Crater on the Martian surface.

The newly activated software is optimized to drive the rover, operate the robotic arm and scoop up and analyze soil samples. With that software successfully loaded, NASA engineers are back to testing the rover's various operational and scientific instruments.