Mars landing: NASA Perseverance rover land time and how to watch live tonight

NASA is about to land a car-sized contraption on Mars – and you can watch the whole thing live from the comfort of your home.

The alien-hunting Perseverance rover is set to endure “seven minutes of terror” as it plunges through the thin Martian atmosphere before touching down on the Red Planet.

Having launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, seven months ago, Perseverance is scheduled to arrive at its destination on February 18.

According to Nasa, the rover is scheduled to touch down on the Red Planet at 3.55pm ET (8.55pm GMT).

We won’t know whether the mission was successful until the first signal pinged from the Martian surface reaches mission control on Earth.

You can follow all the latest Mars landing news and updates by following our live blog below…