Out of this world pictures snapped on Mars throughout history

As Earth’s closest neighbour, Mars has been a fascination for human kind for hundreds of years. This is how we have photographed it over the years.

Last night, Nasa’s InSight lander finally touched down on Mars — after a long and arduous 301 million-mile journey.

And despite being on the red planet for less than 24 hours, it has already sent back two stunning images.

The first image sent back from the InSight Mars lander after it touched down on the surface of Mars. Picture: NASA

The InSight probe used its robotic arm-mounted camera to take a picture of its surrounds. Picture: NASA

During its time on Mars, InSight will beam countless snaps back to Earth, giving us a detailed look at the distant planet’s alien landscapes.

And it will take measurements of Martian wind, seismic movements, and even underground temperatures — using a “mole” probe.

But NASA has spent plenty of time on Mars already, and has a huge collection of Martian photography available online.

We’ve picked out some of the best photos taken from Earth’s closest neighbour.

The Opportunity rover’s panoramic cam shows the ‘Spirit of St Louis’ crater and other curious Martian features. Picture: NASA

The Opportunity rover snapped these small ‘spherules’ (also known as ‘blueberries’) on the Martian surface in April 2004. Picture: NASA

This hole was actually created by Opportunity, using its rock abrasion tool. The rock in question was nicknamed ‘Gagarin’, and measures 4.5cm across. Picture: NASA

The Opportunity rover spent its seventh anniversary on Mars investigating the ‘Santa Maria’ crater. It has a diameter roughly the length of a football field. Picture: NASA

Nasa’s Spirit rover captured this image in February 2006, after using a rock abrasion tool to brush rocks on the Martian surface. NASA team members described the brush spots as the eyes of the face, with rocks below resembling a nose and mouth. Picture: NASA

Taken in January 2004 by Nasa’s Spirit rover. The picture shows the rover’s landing site at the Columbia Memorial Station at the Gusev Crater. To the right of the image, you can see hills, and on the left you can see the ridge of a crater. Picture: NASA

Nasa’s Opportunity rover snapped this, showing off the dramatic dune field on the Endurance Crater's floor. This image highlights a ‘blue’ tint on the flat surfaces, caused by ‘blueberries’ — hematite-containing spherules that accumulate on the ground. Picture: NASA

A dark boulder was snapped by Nasa’s Spirit rover, measuring 40cm tall on Martian sand. This was just under 5m away from the rover. It’s a volcanic rock fragment, one of many that litters the slope of ‘Low Ridge’. Picture: NASA

The Opportunity rover took this image of Cape St. Vincent, a piece of land that juts out from the walls of the Victoria Crater. The bright band in the middle is believed to be the surface of Mars just before an impact formed the crater. Picture: NASA

Nasa's Curiosity rover took this image, which shows sloping buttes and rocky, layered outcrops on Mount Sharp. The buttes are eroded remnants of ancient sandstone. Picture: NASA

This is the Kimberley formation, snapped by Nasa's Curiosity rover. The way the land dips towards Mount Sharp suggests that water flowed towards a basin that once existed. Picture: NASA

This image shows a zone on lower Mount Sharp, and was taken in 2016 by the Curiosity rover. The area shown here is around 3m wide. Picture: NASA

This dark mound is called Ireson Hill, and rises around 4.8m in the air on lower Mount Sharp. This photo is made up of 41 images taken by the Curiosity rover in February 2017. Picture: NASA

This view from the Curiosity rover's Mast Camera shows ripples in a dune field on lower Mount Sharp. It was taken in March 2017 as part of a 360-degree panorama shot of Ogunquit Beach. Picture: NASA

This amazing selfie was taken by Nasa's Curiosity rover at the Namib Dune in 2016. The camera used for this was the Mars Hand Lens Imager, which sits at the end of the rover's robotic arm. Picture: NASA

A later selfie was taken by Curiosity in February 2018, showing the vehicle on Vera Rubin Ridge. In the distance, just behind Curiosity, is Mount Sharp, which is a key research area for the rover. Picture: NASA

The Curiosity rover used its robot arm camera to illuminate and snap this night time shot of a sandstone rock named Windjana. The hole was drilled by the rover to collect a sample from inside the rock. Picture: NASA

The Curiosity rover took this photo in 2012, showcasing its own three left wheels. In the distance you can see the lower slope of Mount Sharp. Picture: NASA

This photo shows a meteorite snapped by Curiosity. The rock, named Lebanon, is an iron meteorite that landed on Mars from somewhere else in space. Picture: NASA

This photo shows a 5cm deep hole drilled by Nasa's Curiosity rover. The hole, which measures just over half an inch across, was drilled on May 20, 2018, and was the first rock sample captured since October 2016, two months before a mechanical issue took the drill offline. Picture: NASA

This story originally appeared in The Sun and has been republished here with permission.