Nasa’s Curiosity rover has zapped its first Martian rock, aiming its laser for the sake of science.

Nasa’s Curiosity rover has zapped its first Martian rock, aiming its laser for the sake of science.

Nasa’s Curiosity Rover has transmitted its first colour photo and a low-resolution video showing the last two-and-a-half minutes of its white-knuckle dive through the Martian atmosphere, giving us earthlings a sneak peek of a spacecraft landing on another world.

NASA’s new Mars rover has beamed back its first colour photo from the ancient crater where it landed.

Nasa’s Curiosity rover has transmitted a low-resolution video showing the last 150 seconds of its dive through the Mars atmosphere, giving Earthlings a sneak peek of a spacecraft landing on another world.

In a show of technological wizardry, the robotic explorer Curiosity blazed through the pink skies of Mars, steering itself to a gentle landing inside a giant crater for the most ambitious dig yet into the red planet’s past.

Are we alone?

The latest Mars destination is a giant crater near the equator with an odd feature: a mountain rising from the crater floor.

Nasa said all was well ahead of its nail-biting mission to Mars, with its most advanced robotic rover poised to hunt for clues about past life and water on Earth’s nearest planetary neighbour.

A one-ton rover as big as a Mini is due to land on Mars on Monday in one of the most daring space missions ever attempted.

A NUCLEAR-powered rover as big as a family car is set to begin a nine-month journey to Mars this weekend to learn if the planet is or ever was suitable for life.