What it's like to land on Mars

Using sitch photography, a video has been created showing what it's like to land on Mars.

As part of Nasa's Mars Curiosity rover landing in 2012, high resolution photos were taken during its descent onto the surface of the red planet.

When cut together, the images recreate Curiosity's arrival on Mars.

(Nasa)

At the start of the video, Curiosity's heat shield can be seen dropping away from the robotic rover during its descent.

Recently Nasa announced the discovery of hydrated salts on the planet, suggesting the presence of intermittently flowing water. Such a discovery is the greatest indicator yet that Mars could sustain life.

"We found the hydrated salts only when the seasonal features were widest, which suggests that either the dark streaks themselves or a process that forms them is the source of the hydration. In either case, the detection of hydrated salts on these slopes means that water plays a vital role in the formation of these streaks," said Lujendra Ojha, the report's lead author.