A Mars rover is an automated motor vehicle which propels itself across the surface of the planet

Mars upon arrival.

Rovers have several advantages over stationary landers: they examine more territory, they can be
directed to interesting features, they can place themselves in sunny positions to weather winter
months and they can advance the knowledge of how to perform very remote robotic vehicle
control.
There have been four successful robotically operated Mars rovers. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory
managed the Mars Pathfinder mission and its now inactive Sojourner rover. It currently manages
the Mars Exploration Rover mission's active Opportunity rover and inactive Spirit, and, as part
of the Mars Science Laboratory mission, the Curiosity rover.
On January 24, 2014, NASA reported that current studies on the planet Mars by the Curiosity
and Opportunity rovers will now be searching for evidence of ancient life, including a biosphere
based on autotrophic, chemotrophic and/or chemolithoautotrophic microorganisms, as well as
ancient water, including fluvio-lacustrine environments (plains related to ancient rivers or lakes)
that may have been habitable.
[1][2][3][4]
The search for evidence of habitability, taphonomy
(related to fossils), and organic carbon on the planet Mars is now a primary NASA objective.
[

NASA distinguishes between "mission" objectives and "science" objectives. Mission objectives
are related to progress in space technology and development processes. Science objectives are
met by the instruments during their mission in space.
The details of rover science vary according to equipment carried. The primary goal of the Spirit
and Opportunity rovers is to discover "the history of water on Mars".
[29]
(The presence of usable
water would greatly reduce manned mission cost.)
The four science goals of NASA's long-term Mars Exploration Program are:
Determine whether life ever arose on Mars
Characterize the climate of Mars
Characterize the geology of Mars
Prepare for human exploration
[30]