NASA's most advanced robotic rover is set to land on Mars on Monday to hunt for clues about the planet's past and water there.

"The mission is going extremely well," said Pete Theisinger, director of the Engineering and Science Directorate at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

"Everything is really on track... so we are really good to go three days out."

If the mission continues to go to plan, Curiosity, the unmanned rover will touch down in Gale Crater, one of the lowest points on Mars, where scientists believe the waters of ancient rivers flowing downhill once pooled.

John Grotzinger, project scientist for the Mars Science Laboratory said he was hopeful that many questions would be answered on the mission, including how the once wet planet became so dry.