5 of the best memes of a landing photo taken by Nasa’s Mars rover, Perseverance

Nasa’s Mars rover, named Perseverance, landed on the Red Planet on Thursday, and its official Twitter account has been sharing key moments direct from the rover itself.

Its landing comes six months after the launch of Perseverance into space, which took place in July last year.

News of Perseverance’s safe arrival was shared on Twitter just before 9pm on Thursday evening, with a tweet reading “I’m safe on Mars. Perseverance will get you anywhere.”

The rover will now begin a mission lasting just under two years (687 days) looking for signs of “ancient microbial life” on the planet as well as testing tech which could help “pave the way” for humans on Mars.

“There are several ways that the mission helps pave the way for future human expeditions to Mars and demonstrates technologies that may be used in those endeavours. These include testing a method for producing oxygen from the Martian atmosphere, identifying other resources (such as subsurface water), improving landing techniques, and characterizing weather, dust, and other potential environmental conditions that could affect future astronauts living and working on Mars,” a webpage on the rover’s official website reads.

Not long after landing on the planet’s Jezero Crater, Perseverance shared two images from the surface of its “forever home”:

People soon saw a Photoshop opportunity in the black and white photos, and they took it, with many inserting their own individual onto the snaps.

Riding off the back of another trend, one user added in Jackie Weaver, the famed official from a viral Handforth Parish Council meeting which prompted a debate over whether she ‘had the authority’.

The edit prompted another to reply with a witty take on a classic line from the clip, tweeting: “Read the landing orders!”

In another politically-themed response, US senator Bernie Sanders was placed on Mars’ surface.

The Democrat politician went viral in January for his choice of clothing for President Joe Biden’s inauguration, including patterned woolly mittens.

Sanders wasn’t the only member of Congress to get the meme treatment, however, with Texas representative Ted Cruz also superimposed onto Mars’ surface.

It comes as Cruz faces growing criticism over taking a trip to Mexico while his state faced harsh winter weather, leaving Texans without electricity, heat or running water.

Speaking to reporters, Cruz has since said “it was obviously a mistake” adding that he “was trying to be a dad”.

Others, meanwhile, turned to film, with the German MEP Michael Bloss sharing a version with Pulp Fiction star John Travolta gesturing to an empty space.

“Wrong Zoom meeting,” the politician quipped.

Finally, one user went for a more obvious response.

With the rover coming equipped with 25 cameras and two microphones, it’s likely that we’ll see more astonishing pictures from Mars in the future, with out of this world memes sure to follow.