With her skis remounted and all of us packed into the Rover, enjoying our last cold sips of Tusker Export, we head out of town toward Mount Kenya National Park, following the dirt roads deeper and deeper into plantation country.

CNN: The snows of Erukenya

It gives us basic capabilities for operating the rover on the surface, but we have planned all along to switch over after landing to a version of flight software that is really optimized for surface operations.

ENGADGET: NASA's Curiosity rover receives long-distance OTA update, 'brain transplant' on Mars

The US car giant, which bought Land Rover from BMW in 2000, was concerned the company was lagging behind its other operations in terms of competitiveness.

BBC: NEWS | UK | England | West Midlands | Land Rover workers accept changes

The proposal currently being discussed is that ExoMars should be joined by a slightly smaller rover in the class of the US Spirit and Opportunity vehicles that are on the surface today.

BBC: Martian methane mystery deepens

The US space agency (Nasa) says it will launch a new rover to Mars in 2020.

BBC: Nasa to send new rover to Mars in 2020

One of the most practical and useful topics covered involves teaching dogs to become good canine car passengers -- particularly important for those of us who see our car as our second-best friend (after Rover, of course).

CNN: Site-Seer: Fetching an obedient dog from the Web

NASA's Tom Rivellini joins us to discuss "seven minutes of terror, " and what it takes to land a rover on the surface of Mars.

ENGADGET

While many of us were opening presents and having our fill of mulled cider, NASA's trusty Curiosity rover was busy at work capturing panoramic views of Yellowknife Bay, a shallow area of unusual terrain on the Red planet.

ENGADGET: Curiosity spends holidays in Yellowknife Bay, immortalized on special Foursquare badge