When they identify a fascinating target, it is at that point that the drill will be commanded to acquire a sample for detailed scrutiny in the onboard laboratories.
Sceptics put the number trained so far at under 25,000.Under the new law, the Bolivarian militia will now have its own officers and will be commanded directly by the president.
Although the six-wheel, 400-pound vehicle is capable of covering the distance as a day trip, it will be commanded to move deliberately and feel its way over the unknown terrain.
At the end of February, Discovery is to return with racks of scientific equipment for the American laboratory and the Expedition Two replacement crew, which will be commanded by a Russian.
On 28 October, Rosetta will be commanded to start "phasing" its orbit ready for landing.
Endeavour will be commanded by astronaut Mark Kelly, whose wife, Congresswoman Gaby Giffords, is still recovering from a bullet wound to the head sustained during an assassination attempt in January.
And if the cameras onboard spot unusual rocks along the way, the rover will be commanded to park and examine them.
If Nasa and SpaceX are satisfied that the vehicle is performing well, it will be commanded to fly up and over the outpost in preparation for close-in manoeuvres on Tuesday.
And the Curiosity robot, which has just landed in Gale Crater, will be commanded to drive to the base of a mountain where, again, clays have been detected by satellite.
In June, the ship will be commanded to undock from the ISS and take that refuse - and itself - into a destructive dive through Earth's atmosphere over a defined region of the South Pacific.
