http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curiosity_rover#Goals_and_objectives http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curiosity_rover#Goals_and_objec... Curiosity has 8 core objectiv

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curiosity_rover#Goals_and_objectives http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curiosity_rover#Goals_and_objec... Curiosity has 8 core objectives, it's probably related to one or two of theses: Biological (1) Determine the nature and inventory of organic carbon compounds (2) Investigate the chemical building blocks of life (carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, and sulfur) (3) Identify features that may represent the effects of biological processes (biosignatures) Geological and geochemical (4) Investigate the chemical, isotopic, and mineralogical composition of the Martian surface and near-surface geological materials (5) Interpret the processes that have formed and modified rocks and soils Planetary process (6) Assess long-timescale (i.e., 4-billion-year) Martian atmospheric evolution processes (7) Determine present state, distribution, and cycling of water and carbon dioxide Surface radiation (8) Characterize the broad spectrum of surface radiation, including galactic radiation, cosmic radiation, solar proton events and secondary neutrons We have heard some reports on (8), but other objectives seem like they might take a while. Plus the rover is not in the richest part of the ... theoretical river delta so I would suspect that NASA would hold their tongue on confirming (2) and or (3) until they are deeper into the mission, but (4) still seems likely, unless (2) and (3) are plentiful at this point.