Incredible footage shows winter wonderland on Mars as temperatures drop to -123C

NASA has released incredible images taken from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter of a winter wonderland on the Red Planet with cube-shaped snow as temperatures drop to -123 C

The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has captured stunning images of a winter wonderland on the Red Planet (

Image: NASA/ZUMA Press Wire Service/REX/Shutterstock)

Fascinating images have been released by NASA of an incredible winter landscape on Mars.

According to the space agency, icy landscapes, cube-shaped snow and frost are all part of the Red Planet's coldest season, where temperatures can reach a shocking -123°C.

The incredible shots of the landscape were taken by the HiRISE (High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment) camera aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

NASA explains that the most "fabulous" discovery comes at the end of a cold winter, when all the ice that has accumulated begins to "defrost" and sublimate into the atmosphere. As this happens, the ice transforms into bizarre and beautiful shapes.

One of the images captured by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (

Picture:

NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. Arizona/SWNS)

The agency said, "When winter hits Mars, the surface transforms into a veritable otherworldly vacation scene.

"Snow, ice, and frost accompany the sub-zero temperatures of the season. Some of the coldest temperatures occur at the planet's poles, where they drop to minus 190 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 123 degrees Celsius).

"As cold as it is, don't expect snowdrifts worthy of the Rocky Mountains. No region of Mars receives more than a few feet of snow, most of which falls on extremely flat areas.