The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter was launched on August 12, 2005 with the express mission of taking hi-resolution photos of the Martian surface. The first photos were returned on September 29 2006 of the Martian surface. The photos below are of the sun rising over Mars over several days and they are breathtaking.

The views of crepuscular rays sprayed across an alien planet makes one wonder about Mars and what mysteries it has. Did Mars have life millions of years ago that was destroyed? Is it as desolate now as it was a billion years ago? These are questions that we are looking to answer as we edge closer and closer to landing on Mars.

The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera took this image of the Earth and the Moon at a distance of 88 million miles away from Mars.