A space probe from Nasa captured images of our solar system’s fourth planet when it was the closest to the sun, during its summer season, and when it passed facing the sun with its northern hemisphere.
The pictures were snapped by Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) spacecraft two times in July 2022, and in January 2023 respectively.
The planet in the picture with blue represents the ozone in Mars' atmosphere, while the white and blue areas represent clouds or haze in the planet's sky.
The planet's surface appears tan or green in the new images.
Nasa officials noted in their statement: "By viewing the planet in ultraviolet wavelengths, scientists can gain insight into the Martian atmosphere and view surface features in remarkable ways."
The pictures were shared by the US space agency on June 22 when Mars was near opposite ends around the sun, capturing the red planet’s seasons change.
Mars also rotates like Earth causing it to witness four different seasons.
However, the duration of the season is two times longer compared to Earth because a year on Mars its is almost twice that on Earth.
The fourth planet in our solar system orbits the nearest path to the sun when its southern hemisphere is tilted towards it, whereas the northern hemisphere is tilted towards the sun when it's further away, according to space.com.
These tilts and distances cause temperatures to go extreme.
The boost in temperature causes more turbulence, stronger winds and larger dust storms in the southern hemisphere, causing turbulent weather on the planet.
The Nasa space probe MAVEN — launched in 2013 — also identified hydrogen loss from Mars.
This information from the red planet will allow scientists to study further the evolution of Mars
"Understanding atmospheric loss gives scientists insight into the history of Mars' atmosphere and climate, liquid water, and planetary habitability," Nasa said.