Mars probe photos show fine details

High-definition images shot by China's Tianwen 1 orbiter as it circles red planet

The first high-definition pictures of Mars taken by a Chinese spacecraft were made public by the China National Space Administration on Thursday morning.

The pictures－two black-and-white and one color－were shot recently by China's Tianwen 1 robotic probe when the spacecraft was traveling in a Mars orbit, the administration said.

The two black-and-white 0.7-meter-resolution images were taken by the high-definition camera on Tianwen 1's orbiter when the probe was about 330 to 350 kilometers above the Martian surface. Craters, mountain ridges and sand dunes on the red planet are clearly visible.