Nasa rover prepares for first flight on Red planet Mars

More than a century after the first powered flight on Earth, NASA intends to prove it's possible to replicate the feat on another world.

After a seven-month journey, Nasa’s Perseverance rover is preparing to touch down on Mars on Thursday after first negotiating a risky landing procedure that will mark the start of its multi-year search for signs of ancient microbial life.

The aeroshell containing Nasa’s Perseverance rover guides itself towards the Martian surface as it descends through the atmosphere in this illustration. (Nasa)

The Mars 2020 mission, which set off from Florida in late July, includes the largest ever vehicle to be dispatched to the Red Planet.