Watch | High-resolution images from China's Mars probe shared

China's space agency on Thursday released three high-definition images of Mars, sent by its space probe Tianwen-1.

The images were captured by the high-resolution camera on the probe at a distance of about 330 to 350 km from the surface of The Red Planet, said the China National Space Administration (CNSA).

Taken from a resolution of about 0.7 metres, the panchromatic showed ridges, dunes small craters, on the Martian surface. 

It was taken by a medium-resolution camera and displays Mars' north polar region, the Chinese space agency said.

It added that the estimated diameter of the largest impact crater in the images is about 620 metres. 

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The spacecraft, comprising an orbiter, a lander and a rover, entered the parking orbit around Mars on February 10. 

The five-tonne spacecraft is named Tianwen-1, which roughly translates to "Questions to Heaven". 

It was launched about the same time as a rival US mission on Mars and is expected to touch down on the surface of the Red Planet in May.

The mission is the latest in China's space programme, which intends to kick off a crewed space station by 2022 and eventually send an astronaut to the moon.