After executing a flawless landing sequence, NASA's new Mars rover, Curiosity, has reached the surface of its new home.

"We are wheels down on Mars," was the official word from mission control. Engineers immediately erupted into applause, hugs, and a few tears.

"That rocked! Seriously, was that not cool?" said Richard Cook, deputy project manager of the rover, during a NASA press conference after the event.

Soon after the landing, the first images came from Curiosity's cameras, showing pebbles, dust, and the shadow of the rover on the surface of Mars.

"It's just absolutely incredible, and it's a huge day for the American people," said NASA administrator Charles Bolden on NASA TV. "Everybody in the morning should be sticking their chest out and saying, 'That’s my rover on Mars,' because it belongs to everyone.”

More Curiosity Coverage First Images from Curiosity Rover on Mars MRO Captures Amazing Image of Rover’s Descent Lasers, Cameras and Particle Detectors: Rover’s Super High-Tech Science Gear What NASA's Next Mars Rover Will DiscoverAnxiety had been running high, especially considering that most Mars missions have historically failed. But the spacecraft and complex landing sequence executed everything in perfect order.

After a few days of warm-up, the 1-ton nuclear powered rover will now be able to begin its primary mission: sampling and drilling the Martian surface for signs of habitability.

This flagship mission has been in the planning for more than 14 years. Scientists learned from the previous generation of rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, that Mars has a complex past, with times when water was far more prevalent on the planet’s surface. The impetus behind Curiosity was sending a machine with all the capabilities of a state-of-the-art laboratory on Earth to investigate this history in detail.

The rover was subject to delays and cost overruns, eventually coming in at a total cost of $2.5 billion. During the press conference, NASA officials pointed out that this amount to roughly $7 per U.S. citizen.

"This whole enterprise comes out to be the cost of a movie," said John Grotzinger, project scientist for the mission, "And that’s a movie I want to see."

While the rover will use its toolkit to perform important field geology on the Red Planet, its main mission will be to determine if Mars is now or could ever have been a site to host life. As per NASA’s “follow the water” philosophy, this means determining if the water-rich past on Mars ever had the right chemistry and energetic input to create and sustain organisms.

Over its two-year initial mission, Curiosity will drill, sample, and laser-shoot rocks on the Martian surface to figure out what minerals and elements they contain. In particular, the probe will search for organic carbon that could indicate fossilized life forms. Even more exciting, the rover will also sniff the Martian atmosphere for gasses such as methane that could be a sign of present-day life.

*Image: NASA TV screenshot

*