SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

For the first time, you can see Mars as it is right now

Jun 2, 2023, 10:17 AM | Updated: 11:54 am

The European Space Agency is set to stream on YouTube the first live images directly from Mars, acc...

The European Space Agency is set to stream on YouTube the first live images directly from Mars, according to statement from the agency. The stream will start at 6 p.m. Central European Time, or noon ET, and reveal a new image about every 50 seconds. (NASA/Getty Images)

(NASA/Getty Images)

(CNN) — In a first, viewers on Earth got a chance to see Mars nearly in real time.

The European Space Agency streamed on YouTube historic live images directly from Mars.

The images, shared on YouTube, ESA’s Twitter account and with the hashtag #MarsLIVE, showed the planet in a way it has never been seen before, ESA said.

The event celebrated the 20th anniversary of the launch of the agency’s Mars Express orbiter — a mission to take three-dimensional images of the planet’s surface to see it in more complete detail.

“Normally, we see images from Mars and know that they were taken days before,” said James Godfrey, spacecraft operations manager at ESA’s mission control center in Darmstadt, Germany, in a statement. “I’m excited to see Mars as it is now — as close to a martian ‘now’ as we can possibly get!”

But haven’t we seen images of Mars before? Yes, but not live, the ESA said.

Often data and observations of the red planet are taken when a spacecraft is not in direct contact with Earth, so the images are stored until they can be sent back, ESA said.

Depending on where Mars and Earth are in their orbits around the sun, the messages that journey through space can take anywhere from 3 to 22 minutes.

The ESA had estimated it would take about 17 minutes for the light needed to form the images to travel directly from Mars to Earth and then another minute to get through the wires and servers on the ground to get the livestream started, the agency said.

“Note, we’ve never tried anything like this before, so exact travel times for signals on the ground remain a little uncertain,” the agency said in a statement prior to the event .

No stars were visible in the background of the images because Mars is quite bright, noted Colin Wilson, a project scientist at ESA.

“If you’re very close to it, it is even brighter,” Wilson noted, and that obscures the surrounding stars in this particular angle the spacecraft is snapping images from.

But, if you were on the Mars Express spacecraft, you would be able to see much of the cosmos, Wilson added. “And that is in fact critical to how Mars Express navigates,” he said. The spacecraft uses an on board map and its imaging of the stars to orient itself in space, much the way humans have navigated the oceans going back centuries.

Over the course of an hour, new views of Mars were expected about every 50 seconds, according to the statement from the agency prior to the event. However, for some time, the transmissions from Mars were interrupted, the ESA scientists noted, as a ground station near Madrid experienced bad weather.

Some viewers may also have noticed that the red planet did not appear as red as expected. Jorge Hernández Bernal, part of the Mars Express’s visual monitoring camera team, noted during the live stream that Mars was appearing as it would if you captured an image with an iPhone, not as it would be seen with the naked eye.

“Color is a very complex topic related to the way our eyes work,” he noted. And the spacecraft’s images also undergo some processing, to remove “noise” — or unwanted disturbances in the imagery — that can also alter their appearance.

About one hour’s worth of images were dispatched from Mars Express before the spacecraft moved too far from Mars to continue capturing the planet. Scientists noted that additional updates will be shared on Twitter.


The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2023 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.

KSL 5 TV Live

Science & Technology

SpaceX launched 23 Starlink satellites from California on Feb. 10, 2025. They could be seen from so...

Carlysle Price

SpaceX launch seen soaring across southern Utah

Some Utah residents caught quite a sight Monday when SpaceX launched 23 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit.

19 hours ago

STARBASE Hill...

Debbie Worthen

STARBASE Hill program in Utah shuts down due to massive funding reduction

A Department of Defense youth program is the latest victim of budget cuts on Washington’s Capitol Hill, and thousands of Utah children will feel the impact.

6 days ago

This May 18, 1969, photo provided by NASA shows Earth from 36,000 nautical miles away as photograph...

Marcia Dunn, Associated Press

Newly spotted asteroid has a tiny chance of hitting Earth in 2032

A newly discovered asteroid has a tiny chance of smacking Earth in 2032, space agency officials said Wednesday.

9 days ago

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - NOVEMBER 30: In this photo illustration, social media networking apps are di...

Daniel Woodruff

Utah Senate committee approves requiring app stores to verify users’ ages

Children and smartphones took center stage at the Utah Capitol Tuesday as a Senate committee voted unanimously to require app stores to verify the ages of users.

14 days ago

Former Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, second from left, and Bulletin of the Atomic Scienti...

Associated Press

‘Doomsday Clock’ moves closer to midnight amid threats

Earth is moving closer to destruction, a science-oriented advocacy group said Tuesday as it advanced its famous “Doomsday Clock” to 89 seconds till midnight, the closest it has ever been.

14 days ago

A surprisingly efficient and powerful Chinese AI model has taken the technology industry by storm. ...

David Goldman, CNN

What is DeepSeek, the Chinese AI startup that shook the tech world?

A surprisingly efficient and powerful Chinese AI model has taken the technology industry by storm. It’s called DeepSeek R1, and it’s rattling nerves on Wall Street.

15 days ago

Sponsored Articles

luxury living room with a classic white sofa and sofa, interior design...

Lighting Design

Revisiting home lighting trends for 2025

Looking for inspiration to revamp your home lighting? This article outlines some of the emerging lighting trends for 2025.

holiday gift basket with blue tissue paper and gingerbread cookies...

Kneaders Bakery & Cafe

Holiday hacks for a stress-free season

Get more out of your time with family and loved ones over the holidays by following these tips for a stress-free season.

2 computer techs in a computer shop holding up a computer server with the "hang loose" sign...

PC Laptops

A comprehensive guide to choosing the right computer

With these tips, choosing the right computer that fits your needs and your budget will be easier than ever.

crowds of people in a German style Christmas market...

This Is The Place Heritage Park

Celebrate Christkindlmarket at This Is The Place Heritage Park!

The Christkindlmarket is an annual holiday celebration influenced by German traditions and generous giving.

Image of pretty woman walking in snowy mountains. Portrait of female wearing warm winter earmuff, r...

Lighting Design

Brighten your mood this winter with these lighting tricks

Read our lighting tips on how to brighten your mood in the winter if you are experiencing seasonal affective disorder.

A kitchen with a washer and dryer and a refrigerator...

Appliance Man

Appliance Man: a trusted name in Utah’s home appliance industry

Despite many recent closures of local appliance stores, Appliance Man remains Utah's trusted home appliance business and is here to stay.

For the first time, you can see Mars as it is right now