<p>Scientists are busy trying to find answers to the questions - is Mars habitable... is there a potential for life beneath the Martian crust? Mars is the fourth planet and the furthest terrestrial planet from the Sun. It is known as the "Red Planet" because the reddish colour of its surface is due to finely-grained iron (III) oxide dust in the soil.&nbsp;</p>

<p>But a new image of Mars is raising questions over its redness. It looks like Mars isn't as red as we might have thought.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The new mosaic of Mars has been released to mark 20 years since the launch of the European Space Agency (ESA)'s Mars Express, which is a spacecraft that has been orbiting the planet for two decades.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Mars Express's High-Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC)'s data was used to create the mosaic. The image reveals the planet's colour and composition in spectacular detail... not so red.&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/astronomers-share-of-photo-new-supernova-shining-brightly-in-pinwheel-galaxy-603496">Astronomers share photo of new supernova shining brightly in Pinwheel Galaxy</a>&nbsp;</strong></p>

<p><strong>Look at the image:&nbsp;</strong></p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Say cheese! 📸 Over the past 20 years, <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MarsExpress?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MarsExpress</a> has orbited Mars 24,510 times, during which our <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HRSC?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#HRSC</a> has acquired 6916 images. 😲 We couldn’t quite fit all of them into this video, but you can find the best ones on our Flickr gallery: <a href="https://t.co/ey8vXRxlmM">https://t.co/ey8vXRxlmM</a> <a href="https://t.co/rFzxzqOUrT">pic.twitter.com/rFzxzqOUrT</a></p>
— DLR - English (@DLR_en) <a href="https://twitter.com/DLR_en/status/1664624837841518592?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 2, 2023</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Happy Birthday, <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MarsExpress?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MarsExpress</a>!🎂🛰️<br />
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Planned for two years, 'MEX' enters its 3rd decade.<br />
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During its lifetime it's re-written our view of a planet that perhaps once looked more like our own home, and where we plan to soon set foot 👉<a href="https://t.co/BFBo9RA3Tc">https://t.co/BFBo9RA3Tc</a><br />
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📸New mosaic, MEX's HRSC <a href="https://t.co/1rbz9rIcrn">pic.twitter.com/1rbz9rIcrn</a></p>
— ESA Operations (@esaoperations) <a href="https://twitter.com/esaoperations/status/1664575298124251136?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 2, 2023</a></blockquote>
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<p>On its website, ESA said that Mars appears in the night sky different from all the other gleaming dots in the darkness. Notably, the changing atmosphere of Mars has made it difficult to see all the colours on the planet from space in the past.&nbsp;</p>

<p>In a post, ESA said that the "dust scatters and reflects light, causing colours to shift between images". The space agency said that when the mismatched pieces are put together, the result is usually patchy looking.&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/human-body-to-stretch-like-a-long-pasta-if-earth-falls-into-black-hole-claim-scientists-603408">Human body will stretch like a 'long pasta' if Earth ever falls into black hole, claim scientists</a>&nbsp;</strong></p>

<p>The images reveal unprecedented colour variations and the planet’s diverse composition. The mosaic by ESA highlights reddish oxidized iron, dark volcanic basaltic sands, and bright areas. It suggests the past presence of liquid water.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The mosaic produced here by HRSC gathered 90 images at higher altitudes of 4000 to 10,000 km. It is capturing areas around 2500 km wide and when these images were then put together to form a full global view. The process helped to produce a richer colour view of Mars than has been seen before.&nbsp;</p>

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Scientists are busy trying to find answers to the questions - is Mars habitable... is there a potential for life beneath the Martian crust? Mars is the fourth planet and the furthest terrestrial planet from the Sun.

Scientists are busy trying to find answers to the questions - is Mars habitable... is there a potential for life beneath the Martian crust? Mars is the fourth planet and the furthest terrestrial planet from the Sun. It is known as the "Red Planet" because the reddish colour of its surface is due to finely-grained iron (III) oxide dust in the soil. But a new image of Mars is raising questions over its redness. It looks like Mars isn't as red as we might have thought. The new mosaic of Mars has been released to mark 20 years since the launch of the European Space Agency (ESA)'s Mars Express, which is a spacecraft that has been orbiting the planet for two decades. Mars Express's High-Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC)'s data was used to create the mosaic. The image reveals the planet's colour and composition in spectacular detail... not so red. Also read | Astronomers share photo of new supernova shining brightly in Pinwheel Galaxy Look at the image: Say cheese! 📸 Over the past 20 years, #MarsExpress has orbited Mars 24,510 times, during which our #HRSC has acquired 6916 images. 😲 We couldn’t quite fit all of them into this video, but you can find the best ones on our Flickr gallery: https://t.co/ey8vXRxlmM pic.twitter.com/rFzxzqOUrT — DLR - English (@DLR_en) June 2, 2023 × Happy Birthday, #MarsExpress!🎂🛰️ Planned for two years, 'MEX' enters its 3rd decade. During its lifetime it's re-written our view of a planet that perhaps once looked more like our own home, and where we plan to soon set foot 👉https://t.co/BFBo9RA3Tc 📸New mosaic, MEX's HRSC pic.twitter.com/1rbz9rIcrn — ESA Operations (@esaoperations) June 2, 2023 × On its website, ESA said that Mars appears in the night sky different from all the other gleaming dots in the darkness. Notably, the changing atmosphere of Mars has made it difficult to see all the colours on the planet from space in the past. In a post, ESA said that the "dust scatters and reflects light, causing colours to shift between images". The space agency said that when the mismatched pieces are put together, the result is usually patchy looking. Also read | Human body will stretch like a 'long pasta' if Earth ever falls into black hole, claim scientists The images reveal unprecedented colour variations and the planet’s diverse composition. The mosaic by ESA highlights reddish oxidized iron, dark volcanic basaltic sands, and bright areas. It suggests the past presence of liquid water. The mosaic produced here by HRSC gathered 90 images at higher altitudes of 4000 to 10,000 km. It is capturing areas around 2500 km wide and when these images were then put together to form a full global view. The process helped to produce a richer colour view of Mars than has been seen before. WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

It's not so red. Never-before-seen images of Mars are absolutely stunning

<p>China's&nbsp;space agency on Thursday released three high-definition images of Mars, sent by its space probe Tianwen-1.</p>

<p>The images were captured by the high-resolution camera on the probe at a distance of about 330 to 350 km from the surface of The Red Planet, said the China National Space Administration (CNSA).</p>

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<p>Taken from a resolution of about 0.7 metres, the panchromatic showed ridges, dunes small craters, on the Martian surface.&nbsp;</p>

<p>It was taken by a medium-resolution camera and displays Mars' north polar region, the Chinese space agency said.</p>

<p>It added that the estimated diameter of the largest impact crater in the images is about 620 metres.&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>Also read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/dear-moon-japanese-billionaire-invites-applications-for-space-expedition-367629">'Dear Moon': Japanese billionaire invites applications for space expedition</a></strong></p>

<p>The spacecraft, comprising an orbiter, a lander and a rover, entered the parking orbit around Mars on February 10.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The five-tonne spacecraft is named Tianwen-1, which roughly translates to "Questions to Heaven".&nbsp;</p>

<p>It was launched about the same time as a rival US mission on Mars and is expected to touch down on the surface of the Red Planet in May.</p>

<p>The mission is the latest in China's space programme, which intends to kick off a crewed space station by 2022 and eventually send an astronaut to&nbsp;the moon.&nbsp;</p>


China's space agency on Thursday released three high-definition images of Mars, sent by its space probe Tianwen-1. The images were captured by the high-resolution camera on the probe at a distance of about 330 to 350 km from the surface of The Red Planet, said the China National Space Administration (CNSA).

China's space agency on Thursday released three high-definition images of Mars, sent by its space probe Tianwen-1. The images were captured by the high-resolution camera on the probe at a distance of about 330 to 350 km from the surface of The Red Planet, said the China National Space Administration (CNSA). × Taken from a resolution of about 0.7 metres, the panchromatic showed ridges, dunes small craters, on the Martian surface. It was taken by a medium-resolution camera and displays Mars' north polar region, the Chinese space agency said. It added that the estimated diameter of the largest impact crater in the images is about 620 metres. Also read | 'Dear Moon': Japanese billionaire invites applications for space expedition The spacecraft, comprising an orbiter, a lander and a rover, entered the parking orbit around Mars on February 10. The five-tonne spacecraft is named Tianwen-1, which roughly translates to "Questions to Heaven". It was launched about the same time as a rival US mission on Mars and is expected to touch down on the surface of the Red Planet in May. The mission is the latest in China's space programme, which intends to kick off a crewed space station by 2022 and eventually send an astronaut to the moon.

Watch | High-resolution images from China's Mars probe shared

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It's not so red. Never-before-seen images of Mars are absolutely stunning

Watch | High-resolution images from China's Mars probe shared