A NASA spacecraft has begun to transmit signals to Earth, after landing on Mars.

NASA says the signals from the InSight lander indicate that its solar panels are open and collecting sunlight on the Martian surface.

The signals were received on Earth at about 1.30am (Irish time) on Tuesday.

The first picture from InSight, taken with a fish-eye lens and through a dust cover, shows the planet's horizon.

There's a quiet beauty here. Looking forward to exploring my new home. #MarsLanding pic.twitter.com/mfClzsfJJr

— NASAInSight (@NASAInSight) November 27, 2018

Tom Hoffman is InSight's project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, which leads the mission.

"The InSight team can rest a little easier tonight now that we know the spacecraft solar arrays are deployed and recharging the batteries.

"It's been a long day for the team. But tomorrow begins an exciting new chapter for InSight: surface operations and the beginning of the instrument deployment phase."

InSight's twin solar arrays are each seven feet wide - when they are open, the entire lander is about the size of a big 1960s convertible.

Mars has weaker sunlight than Earth because it is much farther away from the Sun.

But NASA says the lander does not need much to operate: the panels provide 600 to 700 watts on a clear day, enough to power a household blender and plenty to keep its instruments conducting science on the Red Planet.

Even when dust covers the panels they should be able to provide at least 200 to 300 watts.

In the coming days, NASA says the mission team will unstow InSight's robotic arm and use the attached camera to snap photos of the ground so that engineers can decide where to place the spacecraft's scientific instruments.

It will take two to three months before those instruments are fully deployed and sending back data.

In the meantime, InSight will use its weather sensors and magnetometer to take readings from its landing site at Elysium Planitia - its new home on Mars.

Watch the landing back below: