'Curiosity' lands on Mars

MARS (WWLP) - On Monday morning, NASA's $2.6 billion dollar rover 'Curiosity' made a dramatic entrance into Martian territory in a spectacle popularly known as the "seven minutes of terror."

This computer simulation shows the rover traveling almost 13-thousand miles per hour.

The vehicle has sophisticated tools for exploring Mars.

They include 17 cameras, a laser that can survey the composition of rocks from a distance, and instruments that can analyze rock and soil samples.

If all goes according to plan, Curiosity's first stop will be Gale Crater, which may have once contained a lake.