( CNN ) -- A NASA spacecraft carrying a Mars rover was in `` excellent health '' Saturday more than two hours after it began its eight-and-a-half-month journey . The mission began at Cape Canaveral , Florida , with a clean liftoff . The spacecraft sent a signal after separation from the rocket , NASA said . Upon arrival after its 354 million-mile trip , the rover will collect rocks and soil on the Red Planet to see if there are signs of life -- in the form of organic material . The rover , dubbed `` Curiosity , '' is scheduled to land August 6 , 2012 . It will be lowered by tether to Gale Crater . If water ever existed on Mars , scientists say , it would have been in the crater . `` Curiosity '' will help determine whether an area on the planet `` has ever been a potential habitat for Martian life , '' NASA says . `` This sets up the future of finally answering that age-old question : Does life exist on other planets ? '' said deputy project manager Ashwin Vasavada . The mission will last one Martian year , which is 687 Earth days , NASA says . The rover , about the size of a compact car , weighs 1 ton and has a 7-foot arm that will be used to collect material . `` On Mars , if life exists as single cell-organisms , or if it ever existed , we believe it will be under the ground , or inside rocks , '' said mission chief engineer Rob Manning . The project costs $ 2.5 billion . CNN 's John Zarrella contributed to this report .
Space : Spacecraft in ` ` excellent condition '' as it flies toward Mars . A spacecraft named Curiosity will roll over the Martian surface . It will determine whether there 's ` ` a potential habitat for Martian life ''