Nasa successfully lands $3.1b rover on Mars
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In this 2011 file artist's rendering provided by Nasa/JPL-Caltech, a "sky crane" lowers the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover onto the surface of Mars. After traveling 8 1/2 months and 352 million miles, Curiosity will attempt a landing on Mars the night of Aug. 5, 2012. -- PHOTO: AP
PASADENA, California (AFP) - Nasa on Sunday successfully landed its US$2.5 billion (S$3.1 billion) Mars Science Laboratory and Curiosity rover on the surface of the Red Planet, marking the most ambitious attempt to reach Mars in history.
"Touchdown confirmed," said a member of mission control at Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory as the room erupted in cheers. "We are wheels down on Mars. Oh, my God."
A dusty image of the rover's wheel on the surface, taken from a rear camera on the vehicle, confirmed the arrival of the car-sized rover and its sophisticated toolkit designed to hunt for signs that life once existed there.
A second image arrived within seconds, showing the shadow of the rover on Mars.
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