NASA successfully landed its InSight spacecraft on Mars Monday, marking the first Martian landing for NASA in six years.
After cruising 301,223,981 miles InSight touched down on the red planet just before 3 p.m. ET.
InSight stands for Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport and will be the first mission to study the deep interior of Mars.
Follow the latest on the landing below from The Associated Press and ClickOrlando.com.
3:03 p.m.
The InSight lander communicated that it's healthy after sending a signal directly back to Earth. The lander also sent back its first image after landing.
My first picture on #Mars! My lens cover isn’t off yet, but I just had to show you a first look at my new home. More status updates:https://t.co/tYcLE3tkkS #MarsLanding pic.twitter.com/G15bJjMYxa
— NASA InSight (@NASAInSight) November 26, 2018
2:54 p.m.
Mission control at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California confirmed Insight, the Mars lander, touched down on the Martian surface after successfully slowing down from more than 12,000 mph to 5 mph.
Updates from InSight are coming in via radio signals that take more than eight minutes to cross the nearly 100 million miles between Mars and Earth. The news is being relayed by a pair of mini satellites that have been following InSight since their May launch.
It is NASA's ninth attempt to land at Mars since the 1976 Vikings. Only one failed.
NASA last landed on Mars in 2012 with the Curiosity rover.
2:47 p.m.
InSight successfully made entry into the Martians atmosphere. The spacecraft will next begin slowing down for landing. As it plunges through the atmosphere the heat shield will experience about 2,700 degree temperatures.
2:38 p.m.
NASA's Mars InSight lander has begun descending down to Mars.
Two small spacecraft, known as MarCo CubeSats A and B, that will be used to communicate with InSight, have locked onto the lander's signal. The CubeSats will track InSight's entry, descent and landing.
2 p.m.
People are watching from around the country, as NASA's InSight lander is expected to touchdown on the red planet just before 3 p.m.
Watch parties from New York City's Time Square to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California are underway.
InSight will begin entering the Martian atmosphere at 2:47 p.m. traveling at more than 12,000 mph. The spacecraft will then begin decelerating before deploying its parachute. It must slow to about 5 mph before making a soft landing on the red planet in an area called the Elysium Planitia.
InSight's team at mission control in California will know the spacecraft has landed when it "beeps" back a single to Earth, indicating the lander has survived, at 3:01 p.m.
12 p.m.
A NASA spacecraft is just a few hours away from landing on Mars.
The InSight lander is aiming for a Monday afternoon touchdown on what scientists and engineers hope will be a flat plain.
Everyone involved in the $1 billion international mission is understandably nervous. They say they've had trouble sleeping, and their stomachs are churning.
It's risky business to descend through the Martian atmosphere and land, even for the U.S., the only country to pull it off. It would be NASA's eighth landing on Mars.
3 a.m.
A NASA spacecraft's six-month journey to Mars is nearing its dramatic grand finale.
The InSight lander aimed for a touchdown Monday afternoon, as anxiety built among those involved in the $1 billion international effort.
InSight's perilous descent through the Martian atmosphere has stomachs churning and nerves stretched to the max. Although an old pro at this, NASA hasn't attempted a landing at Mars for six years.
The robotic geologist -- designed to explore Mars' mysterious insides -- must go from 12,300 mph (19,800 kph) to zero in six minutes flat as it pierces the Martian atmosphere, pops out a parachute, fires its descent engines and lands on three legs.
It's aiming for flat red plains, hopefully low on rocks.
Earth's overall success rate at Mars is 40 percent.