The US space agency NASA has released the first audio from Mars, a faint wind sound captured by the Perseverance rover.

NASA also released the first video of the landing of the rover on the Red Planet.

A microphone did not work during the descent but the rover was able to capture audio once it landed on Mars.

NASA engineers played a short audio clip of what they said was a wind gust on the surface.

The video clip, lasting three minutes and 25 seconds, showed the deployment of the parachute and the rover's touchdown on the surface of Mars in a cloud of dust.

"These are really amazing videos," Michael Watkins, director of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said at a briefing for reporters. "This is the first time we've ever been able to capture an event like the landing on Mars."

Jessica Samuels, Perseverance's surface mission manager, said the rover was operating as expected so far.

"I am happy to report that Perseverance is healthy," Ms Samuels said.

After seven months in space, the rover survived a nail-biting landing phase to touch down gently on the surface of Mars last Thursday, to embark on its mission to search for the signs of ancient microbial life.

The autonomously guided procedure was completed more than 11 minutes earlier, which is how long it takes for radio signals to return to Earth.

Over the course of several years, Perseverance will attempt to collect 30 rock and soil samples in sealed tubes, to be eventually sent back to Earth sometime in the 2030s for lab analysis.

About the size of an SUV, it weighs a tonne, is equipped with a 2 metre long robotic arm, has 19 cameras, two microphones, and a suite of cutting-edge instruments to assist in its scientific goals.