Nasa's Perseverance rover landed on Mars on Thursday to explore the surface of the Red Planet.
"We're trying to land the biggest, heaviest and most complex rover we've ever built at the most dangerous landing site we've ever attempted," Al Chen, entry, descent and landing chief, said earlier in the day.
Nasa said the Mars 2020 spacecraft carrying the Perseverance rover entered the Martian atmosphere and landed safely on the planet's surface.
The risky, autonomously guided landing phase lasted about seven minutes and it took more than 11 minutes for a radio signal to reach Earth confirming success.
"Cheers erupted in mission control at Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory as controllers confirmed that Nasa's Perseverance rover, with the Ingenuity helicopter attached to its belly, had touched down safely on Mars," the US space agency said.
After landing in the Jezero Crater, the rover has started sending images to Earth, depicted in this video.
It will spend years exploring the Jezero Crater in the hope of finding clues about the possibility of life on Mars.
There is a river delta that scientists believe may have been where water once flowed into the crater.
The rover has features such as a weather station and communications antenna.
It carries the Ingenuity helicopter, which will allow for the first controlled flight on another planet and – if successful – even greater exploration possibilities.
The first attempted flight of the Marscopter is scheduled to take place in about two months.
"Engineers are analysing the data flowing back from the spacecraft," Nasa said.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, congratulated the US and Nasa for another successful Mars mission.
Sarah Al Amiri, UAE Minister of State for Advanced Technology and chairwoman of the UAE Space Agency, wished Nasa well in its mission.
"We are eager and excited for the scientific discoveries this mission will bring," she said.
As part of a global race to explore Mars, the UAE Space Agency launched a probe, Hope, that successfully entered the Martian orbit last week. The Tianwen-1 spacecraft from China also entered the planet's orbit.
Nasa's Mars mission
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The first images arrive moments after Nasa's Perseverance Mars rover spacecraft successfully touched down on Mars on February 18, 2021. Nasa TV via Reuters -
Members of Nasa's Perseverance Mars rover team watch in mission control as the first images arrive moments after the spacecraft successfully touched down on Mars. Nasa via AP -
The second image sent by the Perseverance rover showing the surface of Mars, just after landing in the Jezero crater. Nasa via AP -
Members of Nasa's Perseverance rover team react in mission control after receiving confirmation the spacecraft successfully touched down on Mars, at Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California on February 18, 2021. Nasa via Reuters -
This artist's concept depicts Nasa's Mars 2020 rover on the surface of Mars. Nasa/JPL-Caltech -
This image shows the remains of an ancient delta in Mars' Jezero Crater, which Nasa's Perseverance Mars rover will explore for signs of fossilized microbial life. ESA -
The successful landing of the Perseverance could answer the age-old question of whether life ever existed on the red planet. AFP -
This artist's concept depicts astronauts and human habitats on Mars. Scientists in Germany have found a way to grow bacteria under Mars-like conditions. Nasa / JPL-Caltech -
NASA's Mars 2020 rover will store rock and soil samples in sealed tubes on the planet's surface for future missions to retrieve, as seen in this illustration. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
