Nasa Mars rover: What will the rover do?

The Perseverance rover touched down on the Martian surface at 20:55 GMT (15:55 ET) on Thursday 18 February.

The robot is designed to hunt for signs of past microbial life, if it ever existed. It is the first Nasa mission to hunt directly for these "biosignatures" since the Viking missions in the 1970s.

The rover will collect samples of rock and soil, encase them in tubes, and leave them on the planet's surface to be returned to Earth at a future date. Perseverance will also study the Red Planet's geology and test how astronauts on future Mars missions could produce oxygen from CO2 in the atmosphere. This oxygen could be used for breathing and rocket propellant.

In addition, a drone-like helicopter will be deployed to demonstrate the first powered flight on Mars. Perseverance will explore Jezero Crater, near the planet's equator, for at least one Martian year (about 687 Earth days).