NASA Released 1,000 New Images of Mars from HiRISE Camera

The NASA Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has been capturing images of the surface of Mars and recently, the agency released over 1,000 images from Mars.

This was one of the largest releases by NASA in terms of quantity where over 1,000 new images of Mars taken by the HiRISE camera were published. The images show various angles and colors that present the terrains and objects seen on the surface of the red planet including craters and impact marks as well as numerous sand dunes and ice caps.

Like other innovative cameras and satellite operated by NASA and other space agencies, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter took tons of images of Mars for scientific purposes. These images were immediately beamed back to Earth and some of them were seen for the first time.

In order to gather this much data, the HiRISE camera took advantage of the planetary position of Mars relative to the spacecraft. Every six months, Mars and the Sun are strategically placed on opposite sides of the Earth, the best way for MRO to connect to the Earth-borne base. During these times, the orbiter was able to beam back tons of data to Earth, according to Engadget.

But this time, it's extra special because the alignment allowed the Sun to shine on the Martian surface allowing the MRO to capture some of the best photos ever taken on the Martian surface. The Sun's ray the illuminates the surface from the north to the South Pole is enough to boosts the HiRISE camera's chances of capturing more detailed and clear photographs of Mars.

Many scientists, researchers and even conspiracy theorists who devote a lot of time in analyzing photographs taken of Mars to enable them to arrive at a better understanding of the terrain, evolution, composition and even mysteries that engulfs the red planet.

Aside from that, the images released can be of help in the future journey to Mars especially in locating the most suitable landing site for the future spacecraft and landers to conduct missions on the red planet, according to Popular Science.

The recent closest approach of Mars to Earth also helped the HiRISE camera to capture almost 1,035 images of the red planet. All the photos can be downloaded from NASA's official website.