Martian surface. Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) high-resolution infrared image of an area of the surface of Mars. The area shown here is in the southern hemisphere of Mars, and is several tens of kilometres across. Several craters are seen. The ground is shown in yellow, with the grey colours thought to be due to early-morning fog in the atmosphere. The date is 24 March 2006, which is during the autumn season of the Martian southern hemisphere. Image data obtained by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) on the orbiting MRO spacecraft. The MRO spacecraft was launched in August 2005, and arrived at Mars in March 2006.