--- description: August has been an extra productive month for the team working with NASA's HiRISE, the camera aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter title: See the Best News Images From the Camera Orbiting Mars image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7d2ad4aed2c41dd0/6988a275524fc07ebcdf9287/mars-reconnaissance-orbiter-3x2.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Science](/section/science/) ## Science Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # The Best New Images from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter by [Marisa Gertz](/author/marisa-gertz/) ## Marisa Gertz Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 15, 2016 8:56 PM CUT  NASA/JPL/University of Arizona by [Marisa Gertz](/author/marisa-gertz/) ## Marisa Gertz Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 15, 2016 8:56 PM CUT August has been an extra productive month for the team working with NASA’s [HiRISE](http://www.uahirise.org/katalogos.php "undefined"), the camera aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. While the orbiter has been releasing images regularly, on the 3rd, NASA released more than 1,000 images, an unusually large haul. Recently, two factors combined to make this an especially good time to photograph the [red planet](http://time.com/4342056/hubble-mars-photo-sun/ "undefined"). Firstly, “every 26 months, the geometry of Earth and Mars offer a sweet spot for data return,” Alfred McEwen, the director of the Planetary Image Research Laboratory, told [Popular Science](http://www.popsci.com/nasa-released-over-1000-new-images-mars-surface "undefined"). Secondly, July marked Mars’ [autumnal equinox](http://www.planetary.org/explore/space-topics/mars/mars-calendar.html "undefined"), giving the orbiter the most complete, fully-lit views of the planet it will get for the rest of the year. The [HiRISE](http://www.uahirise.org/faq/ "undefined") is the highest-resolution camera to be carried aboard an orbiter, allowing scientists to view the structures of [Mars](http://time.com/4303093/nili-fossae-the-most-colorful-region-on-mars/ "undefined")‘ surface in detail—objects as small as one meter in length can be distinguished. The camera operates in visible wavelengths, the same as human eyes, but can also capture near-infrared wavelengths to obtain information on the mineral groups present. The resulting images are false color images, not the color human eyes would see on Mars, but processed to reveal distinctions between different materials and textures on the surface.  Russell crater dunes, June 28, 2016. NASA/JPL/University of Arizona  Dunes dubbed Kolhar, June 13, 2016. NASA/JPL/University of Arizona  Gully monitoring (infrared), June 12, 2016. NASA/JPL/University of Arizona  Dunes , June 29, 2016. NASA/JPL/University of Arizona  Dune field with bright fans, June 30, 2016. NASA/JPL/University of Arizona  Variety of spider features, June 28, 2016. NASA/JPL/University of Arizona  Gullies in dunes dubbed Buzzel, June 30, 2016. NASA/JPL/University of Arizona  Richardson Crater dune field, June 27, 2016. NASA/JPL/University of Arizona  Gully monitoring, June 30, 2016. NASA/JPL/University of Arizona  Slope monitoring in Aram Chaos, June 23, 2016. NASA/JPL/University of Arizona  Small tributary deposit and transverse aeolian ridges in Nirgal Vallis (infrared), July 4, 2016. NASA/JPL/University of Arizona  Sand dunes in southern mid-latitudes, June 18, 2016. NASA/JPL/University of Arizona  Spider terrain, July 2, 2016. NASA/JPL/University of Arizona  Sinus Meridiani dune monitoring (infrared), June 18, 2016. NASA/JPL/University of Arizona  Valley with flows in Noachis Terra (infrared), July 2, 2016. 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