NASA Curiosity Rover posts to Twitter from Mars surface

New Mars Rover gets the Twitter treatment during historic landing

In an event that was watched across the globe NASA announced that the Curiosity rover had successfully landed on Mars and survived its 570-million-km voyage from Earth.

"I'm safely on the surface of Mars. GALE CRATER I AM IN YOU!!!" read the message from the Rover's official Twitter page.

The rover endured its lengthy journey and a difficult landing procedure known as the "seven minutes of terror" before finally coming down late Monday night.

Curiosity will now spend up to two years examining soil and rock samples in an attempt to discover if Mars was ever able to support life.

The successful landing is being herald as a great achievement by everyone from scientists to the president of the United States.

"The successful landing of Curiosity - the most sophisticated roving laboratory ever to land on another planet - marks an unprecedented feat of technology that will stand as a point of national pride far into the future," president Obama said in a statement.

"It proves that even the longest of odds are no match for our unique blend of ingenuity and determination."

Curiosity is the fourth rover to hit the surface of Mars, but it's also the most well published rover to ever land on the red planet.

While NASA rovers the Sojourner, Spirit, and Opportunity have all successfully touched down on the Martian planet they certainly didn't have the power of Twitter at their disposal.

The last Mars rover to land successfully was the Opportunity back in 2004. While the landing caused some media hype, it certainly didn't attain the publicity heights of the Curiosity.

NASA has been tweeting Curiosity updates since the beginning and the government agency has even brought in Sci-Fi heavyweights to narrate informational videos on the rover.

The social networking age has herald in a new level of excitement for NASA's achievements. With the likes of Twitter and Facebook, Curiosity news may enlighten and inspire future generations to study science.

As science education gets an overhaul in the US maybe Curosity's search for life on Mars will inspire future generations with a twitter feed.