NASA's Mars rover Curiosity has sent back the first human voice recording ever sent out from another planet, as well as some new telephoto images of its Martian environment.

The 1-ton Curiosity rover broadcast a greeting from NASA administrator Charlie Bolden, who congratulated NASA staff and the agency’s partners on the robot’s successful landing on Mars- an event that signified yet another landmark achievement for the agency.

"The knowledge we hope to gain from our observation and analysis of Gale Crater will tell us much about the possibility of life on Mars as well as the past and future possibilities for our own planet. Curiosity will bring benefits to Earth and inspire a new generation of scientists and explorers, as it prepares the way for a human mission in the not too distant future," Bolden said in the recorded message, released by NASA on Monday.

"Since the beginning of time, mankind's curiosity has led us to constantly seek for new life and new possibilities just beyond the horizon," he said.

Describing the development as another "small step" marking human presence beyond Earth, NASA Curiosity program executive Dave Lavery said it will bring the experience of exploring distant worlds a "little closer" to everyone.

In addition, the rover beamed back some spectacular new pictures, which were taken from the 100-millimetre telephoto lens and the 34-milllimetre wide angle lens of the Mast Camera (Mastcam) instrument.

As an important part of the ambitious U.S. space plan, the Curiosity program has cost $2.5 billion so far and has taken two years to realize.