The Red Planet: magnificent photo of Mars taken from space

Mars is the planet in our solar system that has the characteristics closest to those of Earth. It is for this reason that it is the favorite destination of NASA space missions. Join us as we take a look at the most beautiful images of this fascinating planet!

Photo: By Justin Cowart - Tharsis and Valles Marineris - Mars Orbiter Mission, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=71790570

Here we see Arabia Terra, a vast region located on the northern hemisphere of the planet Mars. It is characterized by its craters dating back approximately 4 billion years. Also seen in this photo are dark dunes, which the HIRISE team is monitoring closely for any sign of wind activity.

Photo: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona

Danielson is an impact crater measuring approximately 67 kilometers in diameter, located in the southwest of the Arabia Terra region. This image taken by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft shows us the sand and sedimentary rocks that make it up.

Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona

This picture shows us channels filled with shiny ice, which contrasts with the red soil of Mars. The photo was taken at the planet's seasonal polar caps.

Photo: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona

This intriguing Martian sunrise captured by the Viking 2 exploration probe on June 14, 1978.

Photo: NASA/JPL/LaRC

This is Candor Chasma, one of the valleys that forms a part of the Valles Marineris canyons, located close to the equator of the red planet. Its light-colored stratified deposits could be an area made up of sandstone, potentially habitable according to scientists.

Photo: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona

Here is an avalanche that was observed by the HiRISE camera, near the north pole of Mars. Every spring, the sun shines on this area of the planet. The heat of its rays causes blocks of ice to fall. When the ice reaches the bottom of the cliff, which is more than 500 meters high, they cause a cloud of dust to form as they hit the ground.

Photo: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona

This image was captured in December 2018 by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The ripples that can be seen in the sand tell us which way the wind has moved around these rock formations.

Photo: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona

Phobos is one of the two natural satellites of Mars. This small moon rises west of Mars and circles the Red Planet three times in a Martian day, which lasts about 24 hours and 40 minutes.

Photo: NASA, ESA, and Z. Levay (STScI)

This remarkable image shows us an impact crater formed between July and September 2018. This impact occurred in the seasonal southern ice sheet, and visibly pierced it, creating an incredible blast pattern.

Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona

The Jezero crater is an impact crater that is 49 kilometers in diameter and it is believed to have formed about 3.7 billion years ago. It is located to the west of Isidis Planitia, a giant impact basin which presents very old landscapes, and particularly interesting to study on a scientific level. The Jezero crater was chosen by NASA as the landing site for the "Mars 2020" mission, launched on July 30, 2020, and currently in progress.

Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS/JHUAPL

Here are dunes photographed on the slopes of Nectaris Montes, in the canyons of Valles Marineris. The sand dunes that make up these giant canyons can be impressively large, with seemingly very steep slopes, as seen in the image.

Photo: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona

This image was taken by the Curiosity rover, deployed on Mars since 2012, on Mount Sharp, a mountain that stands in the middle of the Gale crater. In the center of the image, you can see clay rocks that NASA scientists are eager to study.

Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

Curiosity took a little selfie on Mars! This 899 kg machine was launched for the Mars Science Laboratory exploration mission in 2012. One of its objectives is to explore the Gale crater, on which it landed. The Mars Science Laboratory mission is still ongoing today.

Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

At the center of this mosaic, which is a compilation of images captured by the Viking Orbiter 1 spacecraft, is a broader view of the Valles Marineris canyons. They stretch over 3,000 kilometers long and 600 kilometers wide.

Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech

In this image, blocks of light-colored layers can be seen, composed largely of hematite and water-weathered silicates. These elements tell us that the Aram Chaos crater once contained a lake. Its diameter is about 284 kilometers.

Photo: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona

The Crisp crater is located in the Sirenum Fossae. According to NASA scientists, this crater would be relatively recent, because its edge is still very sharp and its ejecta seem to be preserved.

Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona

These spider-shaped cracks are located in the surface of the south polar region of Mars. They were caused by the evaporation of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona

This sunset was captured by NASA's InSight lander on April 25, 2019 at 6:30 p.m. local Mars time.

Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech

The Hubble Space Telescope captured the comet Siding Spring and the planet Mars as they passed each other on October 19, 2014. On that day, the comet passed about 140,000 kilometers from the Red Planet. This is a composite image, as the comet and Mars were moving relative to each other and therefore could not be photographed simultaneously in a single exposure.

Photo: NASA, ESA, J.-Y. Li (PSI), CM Lisse (JHU/APL), and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)