In photos: Perseverance rover's Mars landing celebrations at NASA and around the nation

Inside Mission Control at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, members of NASA's Mars 2020 Perseverance rover mission team celebrate the rover's successful landing on the Martian surface on Feb. 18, 2021.

On Feb. 18, 2021, engineer Mallory Lefland watches the Mars 2020 landing with excitement and anticipation. Lefland sits in the mission support area in Southern California at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (opens in new tab) in Pasadena, California.

Perseverance's chief engineer Adam Steltzner (right) and his team react in mission control after receiving confirmation the spacecraft successfully touched down on Mars.

During the Feb. 18, 2021 landing on Mars, members of the team watch from Mission Control as the first images of the Martian surface return to Earth from Perseverance rover. NASA's JPL built and manages the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover for NASA.

Perseverance team members watch from mission control as the first images arrive moments after the rover's successful touchdown.

Another fist celebratory fist bump in the mission control room at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. 

On its way to the surface of the Red Planet,  the High Resolution Imaging Experiment (HiRISE) Camera, captured the descent stage carrying NASA’s Perseverance rover through the Martian atmosphere. HiRISE is aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

Mars 2020 Perseverance team members cheer after receiving confirmation that their precious rover safely touched down on the surface of Mars.

Fist bumps abound in the mission control room at NASA JPL after the Perseverance rover successfully touched down on Mars.

The Empire State Building in New York City was illuminated with red lights to celebrate the landing of NASA's Mars rover Perseverance.

Full story: NYC's Empire State Building turns red to celebrate NASA's Perseverance rover (opens in new tab)

As NASA's Perseverance rover descends to the Martian surface, a live NASA TV broadcast from Mission Support at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory shows on the One Times Square video board. The rover's key objective includes depicting Mars' geology and past climate and to collect and store Martian rock and regolith samples.

On the One Times Square video board in New York City, a NASA Mars Rover Landing banner announcing the touch down on the Red Planet. The Mars 2020 mission includes searching for signs of ancient microbial life, paving the way for human exploration.

To celebrate the Perseverance rover's big landing day, Krispy Kreme offered a limited-edition doughnut (opens in new tab) that resembles Mars. Aptly named the "Mars Doughnut," the cosmic creation is filled with chocolate creme and dipped in caramel icing that's been dyed to look like the red planet. 

Perseverance flight director Magdy Bareh moves the final marble from the "Earth launch jar" to the "Mars landing jar." The Perseverance team had been moving one marble a day since launch from jar to jar. 

NASA Perseverance rover mission managers and scientists celebrate a successful landing on Mars at the start of a post-landing update on Feb. 18, 2021, at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

Thomas Zurbuchen, the associate administrator of NASA's Science Mission Directorate, rips up the contingency plan for Perseverance's landing after the mission successfully arrived at the Red Planet.