The amazing Curiosity Rover landed safely on the surface of Mars just a few hours ago, so now we're anxious to see how this puppy works once they get it out and running around on the Martian surface.

To get a better feel for that experience, Doug Moran and Will Gorman have built a scale model of Curiosity using seven Lego Mindstorms NXT bricks, 13 NXT motors, and a drool worthy heap of over 1000 Lego bricks. Four of the six wheels are powered and independently steerable, so the Lego Curiosity can make 360 degree turns on a dime just like the real one. It even has a robotic arm and mast that the operator can work using a joystick controller.

Moran and Gorman presented an early version of their creation at the Kennedy Space Center last November, but they have since upgraded the rover to be even more like the real thing.

Perhaps they should have sent it up along with the big version as a backup.

Battle Bricks, via Engadget