Pasadena, Jan 04: Nasa's Spirit Rover sent its first images of Mars to jubilant scientists here today after surviving a jarring landing on the red planet.

The dramatic black and white photographs, showing the robot resting in front of a large boulder in the middle of a rock-strewn plain, were projected on screens in the mission control room at Nasa's jet propulsion laboratory here.
Just prior to receiving the images, Nasa announced that the robot was in "safe mode" after completing several post-landing tasks like deflating air cushions that buffered its landing, opening the cone that housed it and deploying solar panels to protect it from frigid Martian temperatures.
Scientists literally jumped for joy when they heard a signal relayed by the Mars global surveyor satellite indicating that Spirit had survived its landing.
The space probe plunged through the fiery Martian atmosphere for six minutes, then bounced along the planet's rocky surface, with an approximate landing time of 8:35 pm yesterday (1005 IST).
About 20 minutes later mission control erupted in cheers, hugs and tears when a signal from the craft indicated it was still functioning.
With that, Nasa accomplished the most difficult part of its Martian adventure, landing the first of two twin robots on the red planet for the most ambitious scientific exploration of earth's neighbor ever undertaken.
Bureau Report