NASA's Perseverance rover lands safely on Mars

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - NASA’s Perseverance rover landed safely on Mars Thursday, beginning what is slated to be an almost two-year search for ancient life on the red planet.

"Hello, world. My first look at my forever home," the rover's Twitter account said in a post that was accompanied by a black and white image of the planet's surface.

The highly-advanced rover is slated to carry out a mission that will last for one Mars year, roughly 687 Earth days.

Its journey to Mars took nearly seven months, and it will now begin the process of collecting samples and searching for signs of ancient microbial life.