Photos of Mars: The Amazing Red Planet

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NASA’s Mars Rovers to Hit the Silver Screen
Mars is home to two intrepid NASA rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, featured in the IMAX documentary 'Roving Mars.' (Image credit: Disney/Maas Digital.)

Olympus Mons SE Flank

ESA/DLR/FU Berlin (G. Neukum)

A portion of the southeastern flank of Olympus Mons as imaged by the High Resolution Stereo Camera on ESA’s Mars Express on January 21, 2013.

Viking's View of Mars

The Viking Project/NASA

A photo of Mars from NASA's Viking spacecraft, which launched in 1975.

Half-Lit Mars by Mars Express

ESA

This Mars photo from ESA's Mars Express spacecraft was taken on Dec. 15, 2012, and beamed to Earth on Dec. 18. The spacecraft was 9.761 kilometers from Mars at the time.

Strange Mars Photo Includes Tantalizing 'Tree' Illusion

NASA/JPL/University of Arizona.

This new image of Mars taken by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows an optical illusion. What appears to be trees rising from the Martian surface are actually dark streaks of collapsed material running down sand dunes due to carbon dioxide frost evaporation. The image was released in Jan. 2010.

How Microbes Could Help Colonize Mars

NASA/J. Bell (Cornell U.) and M. Wolff (SSI)

Some believe we could 'terraform' Mars to make it more like Earth, eliminating the need for protective habitats for future human colonizers.

Mars Canals Diagram

Tom Ruen, Eugene Antoniadi, Lowell Hess, Roy A. Gallant, HST, NASA

(Left) This 1894 map of Mars was prepared by Eugene Antoniadi and redrawn by Lowell Hess. (Right) A Hubble Space Telescope photo of Mars shows the modern view of our neighboring planet.

Planet Size Comparison: Venus, Earth and Mars

Lunar and Planetary Institute

A comparison of the sizes of planets Venus (left), Earth and Mars.

Ancient Lake: Mars Ebserswalde Crater

ESA/DLR/FU Berlin (G. Neukum)

Mars' 3.7 billion-year-old Eberswalde crater can be seen here in relief. The crater offer more proof that liquid water once flowed on Mars.

Hubble Snaps Photos of Giant Martian Dust Storm

NASA, ESA, The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA), J. Bell (Cornell University), and M. Wolff (Space Science Institute)

The dangerous dust storm at the start of "The Martian" might have had a very different effect in reality. This Hubble image of Mars, taken in 2005, shows a 930-mile long dust storm raging across the planet's equator.

Mars' Moon Phobos

Credit: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin (G. Neukum)

Mars' largest moon Phobos, as seen during a recent flyby performed by the European spacecraft Mars Express.

Mars Moon Phobos Likely Forged by Catastrophic Blast

ESA/DLR/FU Berlin (G. Neukum)

The ESA spacecraft Mars Express took this image of Phobos on March 7, 2010. This image has been enhanced for seeing features in the less-illuminated part of the moon.

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Space.com Staff
Space.com Staff
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