The parachute of spacecraft opened as the atmosphere slowed it down. It shed its heat shield and fired jet thrusters to break its speed down to five miles per hour before landing.
But after 'seven minutes of terror', as scientists put it, the craft performed as expected and unfurled its solar panels when the dust settled down.
A critical manoeuvre will be the first use of 7.7 foot robot arm capable of digging trenches to get samples of soil and ice into the laboratory instruments on the deck of the Phoenix. It will not be attempted for at least two days.
Image: A file photo shows the Delta II rocket carrying the Mars lander lifting off from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.
Photograph: Bruce Weaver/AFP/Getty Images
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