NASA rover Perseverance successfully lands on Mars

NASA rover Perseverance on Thursday successfully landed on Mars, making it the fifth rover NASA has sent to the planet. 

The parachute has been deployed! @NASAPersevere is on her way to complete her #CountdownToMars: pic.twitter.com/i29Wb4rYlo

— NASA (@NASA) February 18, 2021

NASA sent the rover into space in July of last year, and it finally reached its destination seven months later, NBC reported. 

The minutes leading up to the landing are being called “seven minutes of terror” as it was unclear if the rover would have a successful landing on Earth’s neighboring planet. 

“TOUCHDOWN CONFIRMED!”

Cheers erupt in NASA control room as Perseverance rover successfully touches down on Mars—an endeavor that is part of one of the agency’s most ambitious deep-space missions to search for signs of ancient life on the red planet. https://t.co/MHDxFzmxNh pic.twitter.com/Mhz6oFTxd7

— ABC News (@ABC) February 18, 2021

“Hello, world. My first look at my forever home. #CountdownToMars,” NASA’s Perseverance Mars Rover Twitter account tweeted.

Hello, world. My first look at my forever home. #CountdownToMars pic.twitter.com/dkM9jE9I6X

— NASA’s Perseverance Mars Rover (@NASAPersevere) February 18, 2021

The rover is equipped to collect data on the planet’s weather, gather rocks, search for biosignatures and more with its drill and robotic arm. 

The rover also includes a small helicopter that, if successfully flown, would be the first controlled flight on another planet, according to NBC News.

The $3 billion NASA mission has the potential to give scientists the information needed to learn more about the red planet and potentially send humans there one day.