This might look like Mars, but it’s actually a shot of Earth snapped by ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet. (ESA / NASA)

An incredible picture of the Sahara Desert taken from space looks more like a picture of the surface of Mars.

European Space Agency’s (ESA) astronaut Thomas Pesquet shared the images on Twitter after snapping them from the orbiting International Space Station (ISS).

At a height of 250 miles above the surface, the pictures capture the ‘Eye of Sahara’ in western Africa.

‘I thought I was orbiting Mars when I saw this view! No cloud in sight and the red and ochre colors stretching to the horizon,’ Pesquet captioned the images.

‘This is how I imagine the Perseverance rover would have seen Mars on its approach to landing.’

Another view of the Sahara from space (ESA / NASA)
An Expedition 50 Earth observation composite of the Richat Structure, also known as the Eye of Sahara and Guelb er Richat, in the Sahara near Ouadane in west-central Mauritania, western Africa. (ESA)

The Eye of Sahara, formally known as the Richat Structure, is located in the Sahara near Ouadane in west-central Mauritania, western Africa.


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