I have been very interested in the rovers that they have sent to Mars. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology is scheduled to launch in September of 09 a new Mars Science laboratory called Curiosity. It will be using different technology then the previous two. It will be using nuclear power instead of solar power to power it.
This mission is focused on analyzing air, rock and soil samples on Mars. Some of the instruments that will be used are an, X-ray diffraction instrument, ultraviolet light, Mars Hand lens Imager (viewing details smaller then a strand of hair), higher zoom lens, Mast cam (for storing HD video in stereo). The most impressive piece of equipment is coming from a working collaboration with France . It is The ChemCam, a laser that will be directed at soil and rock samples. It will produce a vapor that the rest of the instruments will get to analyze in their own way.
I am not as interested in whether there is life on Mars as the scientific study of the rocks and soil that it will yield. For more on MSL here is the link to the article: Mars Rovers: The Next Generation. It should be interesting.
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