Curiosity Rover
The most recent unmanned vehicles to land on Mars are the two rovers Spirit and Opportunity. The larger, more powerful Curiosity rover shown here, scheduled for a 2012 landing, will act as a roving laboratory. It can pick up samples and bring them onboard to test for organic compounds. It can fire a laser at objects 30 feet (9 meters) away to see what they're made of. It even contains a small weather station.