Nasa is soon attempting to land its Perseverance rover on Mars after flying through space for nearly seven months.

The US space agency is aiming to touch down on the Red Planet on Thursday - in what they have dubbed as 'seven minutes of terror'.

The most difficult Mars landing ever attempted is part of the 'Mars 2020 mission' that set off from Florida in July last year.

Nasa’s science mission chief, Thomas Zurbuchen, considers it “one of the hardest things ever done by humanity and certainly in space science”.

Perseverance’s mission is the first leg in a US-European effort to bring Mars samples to Earth in the next decade and will be a key step in determining whether life ever existed on Mars.

What time is the landing?

Nasa's Perseverance rover is set to touch down on Mars on Thursday, February 18.

If all goes to plan, it should land at 3.55pm EST - 8.55pm in the UK.

Perseverance is aiming for an ancient river delta.

This landing zone in Jezero Crater is so treacherous that previously Nasa cancelled it for rover Curiosity, but scientists are keen to get hold of its rocks.

Steep cliffs, deep pits and fields of rocks could cripple Perseverance, following its seven-minute atmospheric plunge.

There's also an 11-and-a-half-minute communication lag each way, where the rover will be on its own, unable to rely on flight controllers.

Faster than previous Mars vehicles, the six-wheeled Perseverance will drive across Jezero, collecting core samples of the most enticing rocks and gravel. The rover will set the samples aside for retrieval by a fetch rover launching in 2026.

Under an elaborate plan still being worked out by Nasa and the European Space Agency, the geologic treasure would arrive on Earth in the early 2030s.

Scientists say it is the only way to ascertain whether life flourished on watery Mars three billion to four billion years ago.

How to watch live online

There will be a build-up on the day before the historic landing, with live coverage starting from 2.15pm - 7.15pm in the UK.

Channels that will carry the live broadcast include: YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitch, Daily Motion, Theta.TV, and NASA App.

You can ask questions on Twitter via @NASA using #CountdownToMars.

There's also a whole host of events in the run-up to the landing, which can be found here.