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Loud cheers and applause broke out at NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab on Monday, November 25, 2018, as the unmanned lander, called Insight, touched down on Mars, after nearly seven

years from design to launch to landing.

The great arrival of the spacecraft-designed to listen for quakes and shakes as a way to discover the Red Planet's inner secrets, how it formed billions of years ago and, how other planets like Earth took shape-marked the eighth successful landing on Mars in Nasa's history.

Minutes after InSight landed on the surface of Mars, the first image was sent back, showing a wide flat area as seen through a dirty camera.

The touchdown came after a nearly seven-month, 300 million-mile travel from Earth to Mars, during which the InSight spacecraft had to slow down from a speed of more than 12,000 mph. The spacecraft's heat shelter helped the lander survive temperatures as high as 2,700℉.

Each step along the way was watched nervously at JPL, with updates delayed by the eight-minute light travel time between Earth and Mars. Mission controllers hugged each other with joy when the signals were received. "We are proud of everything that has gone on today," they told us reporters.

The first picture of the surface of Mars was sent back to Earth by one of the MarCO nanosatellites (马可纳米卫星) that accompanied InSight during its travel to Mars. The dust from the landing made the view unclear. Pictures from it were expected to be clearer once the dust settled and the lens cover (镜头盖) was removed.

Hours later, InSight's batteries were charging as expected. The InSight team also passed on another picture, taken by a different camera that's fixed on the lander's robotic arm. The view is clearer, showing the robotic arm and the seismometer, which is used to discover the actual movement of the ground.