Cape Canaveral, FL -- NASA launched its 2.5 billion dollar Mars rover, Curiosity, on Saturday. The rover and its accompanying module, the Mars Science Lab, will take roughly 8.5 months to reach the red planet, and upon arrival are expected to operate for two years.

The intended purpose of Curiosity is to search for evidence of the former state of Mars, namely if its surface shows any sign that it could have supported life in the past.

The rover is scheduled to touch down on Mars on August 6, 2012

CBS/NASA-TV