LEAD NASA successfully sends robotic rover to Mars surface+

PASADENA, California, Jan. 4 (Kyodo) — (EDS: ADDING INFO)

A U.S. spacecraft carrying the Spirit robotic rover touched down on Mars on Saturday, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) said.

Spirit, which is designed to search for evidence of water and signs of life on Mars, landed around 8:35 p.m. Pacific Standard Time after a six-minute final descent through the red planet’s atmosphere, NASA said.

Three hours after the landing, the unmanned vehicle transmitted images of the Mars surface, showing that it was functioning normally, NASA officials said.

Spirit is the first research vehicle to have successfully landed on Mars since the Mars Pathfinder, also sent by NASA, did so in 1997.

Separate attempts by Japan and the European Union to have their probe vehicles land on Mars failed late last year.

According to NASA, Spirit touched down on Mars covered by 24 inflated airbags to mitigate the impact of hard rocks.