NASA said Thursday that the Perseverance rover has touched down on the surface of Mars after successfully overcoming a risky landing phase known as the "seven minutes of terror." "Touchdown confirmed," said operations lead Swati Mohan as mission control at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory headquarters erupted in cheers. The autonomously-guided procedure was completed more than 11 minutes ago, which is how long it takes for radio signals to return to Earth. ia/st