Mars Curiosity Rover Makes First Autonomous Drive

Drive on Mars

For the first time since it landed a year ago, the Mars rover Curiosity has made up its own mind where it wanted to go, NASA says.

Using autonomous navigation, the car-size, six-wheel laboratory negotiated a small dip Tuesday by analyzing photographs and determining the safest way to get from points A to B on its way to Mount Sharp, Curiosity's handlers said. The maneuver over previously hidden terrain covered about 33 feet of the day's 141-foot excursion.