Marking the 20th anniversary of Odyssey, the longest-working Mars spacecraft in history, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has shared a rare image of the planet showing that the surface of the Red Plant indeed looks like electric blue in colour.
The image, shared by the space agency combines shots taken during the period from December 2002 to November 2004 by the Thermal Emission Imaging System instrument on the Mars Odyssey orbiter. It is part of a special set of images marking the 20th anniversary of Odyssey, the longest-working Mars spacecraft in history.
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As stated by the NASA, the pictured location on Mars is 80.3 degrees north latitude, 172.1 degrees east longitude. The image covers an area 19 miles (30 kilometers) wide.
In an official statement, NASA while sharing the image said, "A sea of dark dunes, sculpted by the wind into long lines, surrounds Mars' northern polar cap and covers an area as big as Texas. In this false-color image, areas with cooler temperatures are recorded in bluer tints, while warmer features are depicted in yellows and oranges. Thus, the dark, sun-warmed dunes glow with a golden color.
The development has come days after the space agency earlier this year released the first audio-video unveiling "How to Land on Mars” presenting first-of-its-kind footage of the Perseverance rover touching down on the Red Planet on February 18. The video, along with other newly released footage, gives a better sense of the sights and sounds on the red planet.