NASA's Curiosity Rover Lands on Mars

This handout image from NASA shows the first image from the Mars rover Curiosity after it successfully touch downed on the Martian surface 05 August 2012. Photo by BGNES

NASA's USD 2.6 B rover, Curiosity, successfully landed on Mars early on Monday.

Curiosity was was reported to have landed in a deep crater near the planet's equator at 06:32 BST (05:32 GMT), according to reports of the CNN.

A signal confirming the safe landing was relayed to Earth via NASA's Odyssey satellite, which is in orbit around the Red Planet.

The signal was followed shortly by black and white photographs of the rover's wheels and the ground on Mars.

The one-ton vehicle had been traveling away from Earth since November 26 on a journey of approximately 567 million kilometers, according to NASA.

The spacecraft, which will will be controlled from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, is equipped with a full suite of sophisticated equipment for exploring Mars, including 17 cameras, a laser that can survey the composition of rocks from a distance and instruments that can analyze samples from soil or rocks.

The mission is aimed at assessing whether Mars ever had an environment able to support small life forms

Curiosity is expected to last for two years on Mars, but it may operate longer.

This is the fourth rover NASA has put on Mars since 1997 and it's larger and more complex than all of the previous vehicles sent to the planet.

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