NASA cheered at confirmation of the successful landing of Mars rover Curiosity on Monday.
The rover touched down safely early Monday morning, and NASA scientists expect the craft to offer new insights into the possibility of Martian life during its two-year journey. The six-wheeled vehicle includes an onboard laboratory to analyze geological samples — some of which will be mined from below the Martian surface.
President Obama
joined in the celebration, praising the accomplishment as an "unprecedented feat of technology that will stand as a point of national pride far into the future," he said in statement issued by the White House.
The president said he "eagerly await[ed] what Curiosity has yet to discover," and congratulated the employees of NASA for their "remarkable accomplishment."
"Tonight, on the planet Mars, the United States of America made history," he additionally tweeted.
