Mars Rover Curiosity Lands on Red Planet

During a prime mission lasting one Martian year - nearly two Earth years - researchers will use the rover's tools to study whether the landing region has had environmental conditions favourable for supporting microbial life and favorable for preserving clues about whether life existed.

The $2.5 billion Mars Science Laboratory, the formal name of the mission deploying the Curiosity rover, was launched from Cape Canaveral in Florida, Nov 26, 2011.

BBC reported that a staggering two-thirds of all missions sent to Mars have failed while entering the thin but unforgiving Martian atmosphere.

NASA's strategy was to use a sequence of fully automated manoeuvres to slow the entry from an initial 20,000km/h at the top of the atmosphere to less than 1m/s at touch-down.

The last stage in the sequence will see a hovering, rocket-powered crane lower the rover to the ground on nylon cords, the media report explained.

Tense scientists waited for news as the 250 million km between Mars and Earth means there is a 13-minute lag in communications.

Allen Chen, the deputy leader of the rover's descent and landing team said "I can't believe this. This is unbelievable," as reported by Times of India.

( With IANS inputs)