After a 7-month, 470 million kilometre journey the NASA Perseverance rover has successfully landed on Mars.

A small piece of rock from the Pilbara is on board the rover, which will be searching for signs of previous life on the red planet.

The first images from the mission have been sent back to earth following the safe landing this morning.

Australian National University astrophysicist, Dr Brad Tucker, told 6PR’s Gareth Parker despite the difficulty of the mission so far, the work is only just beginning.

“They know the Jezero crater where they landed, it used to be a giant lake, so where there is water we think there is life,” he said.

“They are going to be looking for rocks, and actually using some earth rocks to calibrate and compare.

“There is a huge task ahead of them to search this crater for it.”

Touchdown confirmed. The #CountdownToMars is complete, but the mission is just beginning. pic.twitter.com/UvOyXQhhN9

— NASA (@NASA) February 18, 2021

Dr Tucker believes there is a high chance they will find signs of life on Mars.

“I think we are so close to that answer, and I think today might be the start of the journey that we learn that we are not alone in this universe

Click play to hear the full interview. 

(Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech.)