Posted by tourdemars to Mars Science Laboratory at July 11, 2010 02:16 PM

NASA's next Mars rover just got a new set of wheels and an innovative suspension system in preparation for its journey to the red planet. The Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity, a robot car is scheduled to launch in 2011 and reach Mars soil in August 2012. Each of its six new wheels is about 20 inches (about half a meter) in diameter. The ambitious rover is designed to collect samples and conduct tests on rocks across the Martian surface in order to dissect the planet's geological history.