The road to Mars is paved with good inventions and the next one, in the form of a rover, will be showcased by NASA on Facebook Live and NASA TV at 1pm EDT (6pm BST) today.

The event will focus on the science and technology of NASA’s next Mars rover, dubbed Mars 2020 as it doesn't currently have an official name, which will investigate the geological conditions of Mars to assess the presence of past (or maybe even still living) life on Mars.

On the Red Planet, the rover might even be used to collect samples of rock cores and soil, which will be stored until a later future mission will bring them back for more definite analysis on Earth.

There will be several speakers involved in the live broadcast today, including Kenneth Farley, Mars 2020 project scientist, Matt Robinson, the deputy manager for the sampling team, and Allen Chen, who’s in charge of how Mars 2020 will descend and land on the Red Planet.

During the event, the audience will be able to ask questions via Facebook, and will also get a glimpse of the Mars Yard and rock drilling facility at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, where the technologies for the rover are currently being tested.

The broadcast can be watched below.