Curiosity set to search for life on Mars in $2.5bn mission

The $2.5bn mission which is being overseen by Nasa is aimed at helping scientists establish if any form of life ever existed on the planet by searching out the basic chemical building blocks necessary for life. Curiosity is carrying a toolbox of 10 instruments, including a rock-zapping laser and a mobile organic chemistry lab, and it also has a long robotic arm that can jackhammer into rocks and soil. It will attempt a landing on Sunday.

The roving vehicle will hunt for the basic ingredients of life including carbon-based compounds, nitrogen, phosphorus, sulphur and oxygen, as well as minerals that might provide vital clues about possible energy sources.

The spacecraft is officially called the Mars Science Laboratory, although Nasa held a contest in 2008 to provide a name and the moniker of Curiosity was chosen.

But the mission has gone $1bn over its original budget and Curiosity was originally due to launch in 2009 and land the following year.

President Barack Obama has set a goal for astronauts to orbit Mars by the mid-2030s followed by a landing.