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Inside the lander is the Spirit rover, a golf-cart sized mobile geology laboratory that will study the rocks and soil on Mars for evidence of water and past or present life.
Earlier, optimistic scientists from the space agency said their craft appeared to be hurtling toward a "bulls-eye" touch-down.
The scientists had made final adjustments to the parachute deployment to accommodate a dust storm blowing on Mars, but found themselves on such a perfect course that they could scrap more navigation maneuvers.
Project managers picked Gusev, an impact crater bigger than the U.S. state of Connecticut, in part because they believed it may have once held a lake.
A second rover, nicknamed Opportunity, is expected to land on the other side of the red planet in three weeks.
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.j...toryID=4069161