As a mobile laboratory, Curiosity will focus first on Gale Crater's 14, 700-foot-high central peak.

WSJ: Mars Mission Seeks a Happy Landing

From the data gathered by Curiosity's meteorological station, scientists think dust-devils may even have run over the mobile laboratory.

BBC: Dust-devils flirt with Curiosity Mars rover

"Proper sampling from the mobile laboratory is urgently needed to determine the scope and magnitude of the crisis and to assist in developing a rigorous response, " OCHA said in a statement.

BBC: UN investigates Nigeria lead poisoning deaths

Researchers using the car-sized mobile laboratory have identified transient whirlwinds, mapped winds in relation to slopes, tracked daily and seasonal changes in air pressure, and linked rhythmic changes in radiation to daily atmospheric changes.

ENGADGET: Curiosity rover finds radiation levels on Mars are safe for humans

Some of the initial chemical analysis would be done in a mobile field laboratory during the investigation.

BBC: How to investigate chemical weapons allegations

By design, the descent and landing of the one-ton mobile robot laboratory, scheduled to occur at approximately 1:31 a.m.

WSJ: NASA's Robot Lab Curiosity Nears Mars

The mission of the mobile science laboratory is to determine whether Mars ever had an environment capable of supporting life.

CNN: Mars rover captures nearby rocket 'footprint'

The film's chase teams were loosely based upon the fleets of vehicles called Mobile Mesonets in project VORTEX and the early chase forays by the National Severe Storms Laboratory and Oklahoma University.

CNN: Why we chase storms