China's Tianwen-1 spacecraft photographs Mars in detail

The spacecraft circled the red planet 1,300 times to get the images

A Chinese spacecraft has snapped spectacular images of the whole of Mars including its south pole.

The spacecraft circled the Red Planet an incredible 1,300 times since early last year, according to media in the country.

China's Tianwen-1 successfully reached Mars in February 2021.

Since then, a robotic rover has been exploring the surface, while the orbiter has been surveying the planet from space.

It snapped lots of photos including the planet's south pole

The pictures taken by the craft include China's first photos of the Martian south pole, where almost all of the planet's water resources are locked.

In 2018, an orbiting probe operated by the European Space Agency (ESA) had discovered water under the ice of the planet's south pole.

Locating water under the surface on a planet like Mars is important as it can help scientists understand a planet's potential for life, as well as providing a permanent resource for any human exploration there.

The photos include a top-down view of the 18,000-metre Ascraeus Mons shield volcano

Other photos taken include the 2,485-mile long canyon Valles Marineris, and impact craters in the northern region of the planet known as Arabia Terra.

Tianwen-1 also sent back high-resolution images of the edge of the Maunder crater, as well as a view from above the 18,000-metre Ascraeus Mons, a large shield volcano first detected by Nasa's Mariner 9 spacecraft more than 50 years ago.