Spirit Rover has landed

As reported on /., BoingBoing, CNN, Spaceflight Now, and Space.com. The Mars rover spirit has successfully landed on Mars! This is great news especially after the apparent loss of the beagle 2 last month. From the CNN article:

PASADENA, California (CNN) -- A NASA robotic explorer touched down on Mars, sending a signal home that it survived the risky descent through the Martian atmosphere and bouncing landing. The $400 million rover Spirit, designed to conduct unprecedented geologic and photographic surveys on the Martian surface, transmitted a simple hello to Earth minutes after landing, which took place just after 11:30 p.m. ET Saturday. The golf cart-sized Spirit went through what NASA assistant administrator Ed Weiler characterized as "six minutes from hell" -- the time it took to enter the Martian atmosphere, descend and land in Gusev Crater. During the descent, Spirit deployed parachutes and fired retrorockets to decelerate. Seconds before impact, it inflated a protective cocoon of airbags.

The site at Spaceflight Now has a great up to the minute report of what is going on with the mission.