NASA's newest Martian rover successfully landed on the surface of the Red Planet on Thursday afternoon and transmitted back its first set of images.
Due to the communication delay caused by a distance of more than 127 million miles, NASA staff waited through "seven minutes of terror" to see if the automated and difficult landing had gone without a hitch.
The SUV-sized rover will spend at least two years exploring the area around the Jezero Crater, which scientists believe once was flooded with water, for signs of life.
This NASA map of Mars shows the site in relation to other missions:
The space agency has launched an interactive map where individuals can track the rover's location and progress:
Perseverance will also collect samples that are planned for return to Earth in a future mission and will deploy the first-ever drone used on another planet to survey the area around the rover.
