NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft is on its way to orbit the Red Planet

NASA’s Curiosity rover is about to take the first step toward landing on Mars as part of its next phase of exploration.

The rover will reach the Red Hill landing site, which is located on the Red Mountain, at 5:30 p.m.

EST (1330 GMT) on Monday, NASA said.

This is the rover’s first attempt at landing on a large body in Martian history.

The landing will also be the first time Curiosity has been able to reach the surface of Mars since it was launched in 2011.

The probe has been orbiting Mars since 2012.

The robot has been roving near the surface in the Red Hills region since October 2016, but its landing was delayed by several months because of an ice storm that covered the surface.

The ice storm has been largely melted and the rover is now set to start landing in a crater, or depressurization crater, on the surface, NASA officials said.

The team of scientists working on the Mars Science Lab mission will be taking a look at how the rover interacts with the environment and rocks in the area where it is coming back.

The team has already drilled a few holes to see how the rovers surface and environment affects its chemistry, NASA has said.

The landing will provide a unique opportunity to study the effects of the environment on the rover, officials said in a statement.