Mars Rover Curiosity Takes First Joy Ride On Mars (VIDEOS)

Today, NASA's Curiosity rover went for its first joy ride ever on Martian soil as it warmed up its tool kit for future data collection missions.

According to reporting by Fox News, Curiosity's touchdown site was dubbed Bradbury Landing, after late author Ray Bradbury.

Lead rover planner, Matt Heverly, announced: "We're very excited to have this kind of milestone behind us...We see that the system is performing very well and we're in a great place to do some science."

Curiosity is currently exploring Gale Crater on Mars and was launched on November 26, 2011.  The rover finally landed on Mars on August 6^th.

NASA's mission is to discover whether or not Mars is habitable for microbial life.  Curiosity's mission promises to answer many of the questions that have long gestated about the alien planet, and perhaps spark new questions in the process.

In a tweet, Jet Propulsion Laboratory engineer Allen Chen wrote, "The EDL (Entry, Descent and Landing) team is finally done. Congrats to the mobility and surface teams!"

Fox News adds that one of Curiosity's wind sensors was damaged by an unknown source, but that it is likely that pebbles fractured exposed circuit boards during the rover's descent. Luckily, another sensor that serves the same function remains intact.

Curiosity's deputy project scientist, Ashwin Vasavada, expressed that the scientists may "have to work a little harder" to determine wind data," but is sure that the team can "work around that."

While it remains to be seen what the Curiosity will find on Mars, the air is thick with excitement about possible scientific discoveries.