Extraordinary images reveal the mysteries of Mars [View all]

From windswept craters to frigid ice caps, explore Martian landscapes through the eyes of NASA’s orbiters, probes and rovers

By David Stock

15 January 2025



Dingo gap in Gale crater

NASA/JPL-CALTECH/MSSS

From H. G. Wells’s alien invaders in The War of the Worlds to The Martian‘s abandoned astronaut, we have long been inspired by the idea that life could reside on Mars – human or otherwise. Flybys, orbiters and landers, including NASA’s Perseverance rover and its aerial sidekick, Ingenuity, have made Mars one of the best understood planets in our solar system. Now, more than ever, we are closer to answering the question: could life exist there?



An impact crater at Meridiani Planum

NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona



Mars’s surface temperature

NASA/JPL-Caltech/Arizona​ State University

A new book, Mars: Photographs from the NASA archive, celebrates the missions that have enriched our understanding of Mars and looks to a future where humans explore the Red Planet.

More:
https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg26535260-300-extraordinary-images-reveal-the-mysteries-of-mars/