The Curiosity rover has started broadcasting from Mars after a successful first-of-its-kind sky crane landing.

The $US2.5 billion Mars Science Laboratory, featuring a car-sized rover called Curiosity, landed at 3:32pm AEST to an explosion of cheers in the Spaceflight Operations Facility in California.

Curiosity's first low-resolution images from the surface of the red planet have made their way back to Earth, showing the rover sitting on the Martian gravel with the horizon clearly visible in the distance.

NASA's flight crew has now handed over to the ground crew who will conduct the two-year mission to find evidence of past life on the planet.

See how events unfolded in our blog.

10:30pm: Lateline interviews NASA associate administrator of science John Grunsfeld about the successful landing:

Sorry, this video has expired Chief NASA scientist discusses Mars rover ( Steve Cannane )

7:18pm: ABC reporter Ashley Hall reports on the landing from the Sydney Observatory where space lovers gathered to watch events live. Listen below:

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Listen Duration: 4 minutes 48 seconds 4 m 48 s Ashley Hall on NASA's successful Mars landing Download 2.2 MB

6:10pm: The last image of the night has been downloaded from Curiosity after a second fly-over from the Odyssey orbiter. The image shows one of the rover's wheels and the lip of Gale crater in the distance. In the days to come Curiosity will broadcast higher resolution images from the surface, including a view of Mount Sharp, where the rover rests at the base.

Curiosity's view of the Martian surface and the lip of the Gale crater (R). ( NASA )

5:37pm: NASA says the next round of images will be four times the resolution of the first images and the dust covers will be removed from the cameras. The Odyssey orbiter is currently in position to allow NASA to download data from Curiosity. The images are used to see if the rover is in a safe position.

5:20pm: In case you missed it, here is the moment mission control got word of the successful landing:

Sorry, this video has expired NASA celebrates successful Mars landing ( ABC News )

5:14pm: The press conference has ended. In the meantime, ABC Science editor Darren Osborne discusses what impact the successful landing will have on Mars exploration:

Sorry, this video has expired ABC science editor discusses Mars landing ( ABC News )

5:08pm: More pictures from the red planet's surface are expected when NASA regains contact with Curiosity as the observer orbiter moves into position in about 25 minutes. The first images from the planet are taken in low resolution from beneath dust covers. High resolution images will only be made when NASA is sure the cameras will not be damaged.

5:00pm: NASA's Richard Cook says the US had a good working relationship with other countries to accomplish the landing.

4:58pm: NASA landing engineer Adam Steltzner says the landing was "good and clean". He says the first image returned from Curiosity shows relatively little dust.

4:53pm: The press conference is opening up the floor for questions.

4:48pm: Earlier, NASA administrator Charlie Bolden said the landing was an amazing achievement:

"Nothing in robotic planetary exploration is harder, more technically challenging or as risky as landing on the surface of Mars. And I know most of you are thinking how can he be saying it, it just looks so easy. Trust me, historically counting all the missions by all countries, the odds of success are about 40 per cent."

4:44pm: NASA's Richard Cook speaks at the press conference: "I've been lucky enough to have done this four times and it never gets old."

4:34pm: US president Barack Obama has taken to Twitter to congratulate the team:

"I congratulate and thank all the men and women of NASA who made this remarkable accomplishment a reality." via Twitter

4:30pm: Pictured earlier, MSL Flight director Keith Comeaux (R) celebrates Curiosity's landing on the red planet:

MSL Flight director Keith Comeaux (R) celebrates with Martin Greco after a successful landing. ( AFP )

4:25pm: US Obama administration science advisor John Holdren says the landing of Curiosity on Mars was "without a doubt the most challenging feat of robotics" in US history. He also says:

"We are actually the only country that has landed surface landers on any other planet. But this lander is vastly bigger, vastly more capable much more complicated to bring in. Many new technologies had to work in perfect succession and perfect synchronisation for this to happen."

4:21pm: NASA administrator Charles Bolden thanks the entire team for the success of the landing, including a mention for Canberra's Deep Space Communication Complex which played a role.

4:20pm: NASA's heroes of the moment arrive at the conference and take their places up on stage to cheers from the crowd.

4:18pm: The press conference has begun. You can watch it here.

4:11pm: A press conference on the landing is scheduled to begin shortly.

4:07pm: The Spaceflight control room has conducted an after-landing check of Curiosity's systems and will be handing over control to a new team which manages the ground operations of the mission.

4:01pm: Another image shows the shadow of Curiosity on the surface of Mars:

The shadow of the Mars Curiosity Rover is seen on the surface of Mars. ( NASA )

3:58pm: Here is the first image from Curiosity on Mars. High resolution cameras will later take pictures from the landing site after the after-landing checks:

First raw image from Curiosity on Mars. ( NASA TV )

3:51pm: US Obama administration science advisor John Holdren says this mission is a huge step forward for planetary exploration. He says the landing was an "incredible performance" with so many systems working together. The answer to the question of whether there was ever any life on Mars will help explain more about us, he says.

3:49pm: NASA administrator Charles Bolden says "we're on Mars again" and describes being on "pins and needles" during the landing.

3:48pm: The landing caps off about a nine month journey to Mars.

3:37pm: The Spaceflight control room is viewing the first images broadcast by the rover from Mars. The view shows one of the rover's wheels touching the gravel, with the horizon in the distance.

3:32pm: "Touchdown confirmed". The Spaceflight control room explodes in celebration.

3:32pm: The sky crane has started.

3:27pm: The capsule is on its own, with computers guiding its entry. NASA says it is heading directly for its targeted landing site at the foot of Mount Sharp.

3:26pm: The capsule has started entry.

3:23pm: The capsule is three minutes from entry into Mars' atmosphere.

3:20pm: Here is a view from inside mission control at the Spaceflight Operations Facility in Pasadena, California:

Mission control at the Spaceflight Operations Facility in Pasadena ( AFP )

3:18pm: NASA says the Mars Science Laboratory is just under six minutes from entry and is travelling at a speed of 5.4 kilometres per second. Everything seems to be going well.

3:15pm: As the final minutes of the landing approach, you can follow along with a live simulation of the landing here

3:09pm: This landing will be more nail-biting than previous Mars missions as NASA is testing out a brand new landing method. Curiosity is much larger and heavier than any of the previous rovers, which used an airbag system to land. Curiosity's size has meant scientists have had to create a new landing method, which they've dubbed sky crane. Here's how it works:

NASA's sky crane landing method for Curiosity. ( NASA )

2:58pm: Curiosity is the third generation of Mars rovers. Below is a picture of the rover family. The first generation sibling of Sojourner, which landed in 1997, sits in the bottom left. Next to it is a test rover for twins Spirit and Opportunity, which both landed on Mars in 2004. Finally, the test for Curiosity dwarfs the other rovers:

Engineers stand with three generations of Mars rovers ( NASA )

2:55pm: Watch a live hangout with prominent astronomers and scientists as they follow the landing:

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2:52pm: Australia hasn't been left out of today's proceedings; the Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex will play a pivotal role, and spokesman Glen Nagle says they are ready and waiting:

2:45pm: NASA tweet: "@MarsCuriosity is now flying autonomously and is on it's own closing in on Mars. There are no more commands from Earth."

2:41pm AEST: Earlier today, as NASA counted down to the landing, Dr Charley Lineweaver delivered one of his super-simple explanations of how it should all unfold:

Sorry, this video has expired Dr Charley Lineweaver discusses just how the Mars landing will unfold

2:35pm AEST: Welcome to ABC News Online's live coverage of NASA's attempt to land its largest ever robotic rover on Mars. If you're just getting familiar with Curiosity, visit this story for some background or check out our quick factbox:

ROVER FACTS Launched on Nov 26, 2011

Launched on Nov 26, 2011 Will search for signs of past life

Will search for signs of past life Travelled 204 million kilometres to Mars

Travelled 204 million kilometres to Mars Rover dimensions: 3 metres long, 2.8 metres wide

Rover dimensions: 3 metres long, 2.8 metres wide Carrying 10 scientific instruments

Carrying 10 scientific instruments Weighs 899 kilograms

Weighs 899 kilograms Rover size requires new landing system

Rover size requires new landing system Primary mission length: 98 weeks

Primary mission length: 98 weeks Expected Mars temperatures: -90C to 0C

Expected Mars temperatures: -90C to 0C Mission cost: $2.37 billion Source: NASA