NASA's Mars 2020 rover passes its driving test by showing it can move under its own weight

NASA's Mars 2020 rover has successfully'passed its driving test' in a major mission milestone that saw it move under its own weight ahead of its launch next year. The rover will leave for Mars in July or August 2020 from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida and will travel aboard the new Space Launch System rocket. NASA's robotic vehicle had to demonstrate it could move forwards, backwards and pirouette during the more than 10-hour marathon'driving test' on Tuesday. The next time the Mars 2020 rover drives, it will be rolling over Martian soil. The semi-autonomous vehicle will search for signs of ancient microbial life within the Jezero crater, which contains a dried up lake once filled with water.