NASA's latest Mars mission, which saw it land InSight on the surface of the red planet, has just sent its first selfie back to Earth.

The lander has already sent some photos home, the first was a dusty looking shot just after it landed. InSight hadn't yet removed its dust protection from the camera, but it was the first proof the lander had reached the surface safely.

The craft also sent back shots of the site where it will eventually place its scientific instruments. NASA chose Elysium Planitia for InSight's landing site because it's remarkably flat.

The selfie itself was taken on the lander's 10th day on the planet, December 6 on Earth. It was snapped by the Instrument Deployment Camera, located on the lander's robotic arm.

Also sent back to Earth was a shot of the area where the lander will place its science equipment

Made up of 11 segments the image shows InSight with its solar panels deployed but with the SEIS and HP3 instruments stored on the craft. In the coming weeks the lander will use its mechanical arm to lift these on to the surface of Mars.

As well as the selfie InSight also took another 52 images of the area its instruments will be placed. NASA has deliberately picked an area for InSight that has soft ground, this, it hopes, will help it dig into the planet without problems.

Once the scientific equipment has been deployed NASA will drill into the surface of Mars to learn about its composition. Unlike Earth, Mars doesn't have tectonic plates and doesn't have major earthquakes.

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The stability of Mars means it has been unchanged for billions of years and so understanding its composition will help us better understand the solar system.

InSight will also monitor the planet for any seismic activity, listening to the heartbeat of the world to learn how it has changed over time.

The seismometer and HP3 heat probe probably won't be deployed until January or February next year.