The national aeronautics and space administration (NASA) has shared never seen before images of Mars in its recent instagram post. Unlike its other high-definition photos, this set of pictures is hazy but it captures Mar’s bumpy surfaces that have craters and hills. These pictures were taken by a Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) camera which is installed on the Mars Odyssey spacecraft. The pictures from this THEMIS camera have helped scientists learn about the physical and thermal properties of Mars’s surface. It is also interesting to note that the THEMIS camera and the Odyssey spacecraft have been inspecting Mars’s surface for over 20 years now.

In a lengthy caption, the space research agency explained the photos and wrote, “Be kind, but don’t rewind. This isn’t VHS. It’s from space. The horizon of the fourth planet from the sun is seen from our Odyssey orbiter, now in its 23rd year around the red Planet. This uncommon view of Mars, taken using an instrument called the Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS), captures Mars’ thin atmosphere, hazy clouds, craters, and dust 250 miles (425 km) above the surface the same POV orbiting astronauts would have. Scientists spent three months planning this observation, which involved rotating the spacecraft so its antenna pointed away from Earth, cutting communication with Odyssey for several hours. Launched in 2001, Odyssey is the longest-lasting spacecraft at Mars, where it continues to map Mars’ subsurface rock and ice structures, and monitors the red Planet’s climate.”

This post has gathered over 2.2 lakh likes since it was posted. Commenting on it, an instagram user wrote, “Space is just so cool! Thank you!”. Another mentioned, “Thanks to nasa, we are informed about the important information of the galaxy”. However, a few people expressed skepticism towards the pictures and claimed that they were created by CGI. Echoing this view, a person asserted, “Now you’re putting old-looking filters on your CGI hahahaha.” This is not the only time when nasa shared pictures of Mars’s surface. In July 2021, nasa shared a set of high-definition photos that capture the interesting patterns on Mars’s surface.