Life on Mars: Rover begins epic search

AFTER seven months of interplanetary travel, the search for life on Mars begins. NASA’s Mars rover, Spirit, rolled to a full stop on the surface of the red planet early yesterday morning.

The landing procedure began at around 4.30am when the probe successfully rotated its thermal shield forward to protect it from the heat of the Martian atmosphere.

Before taking the plunge, Spirit separated from the cruising stage rocket that had carried it for seven months and over 300 million miles from Earth.