It was only yesterday that Chinese officials made it sound like we’d be waiting at least a couple more weeks to see the first photos from China’s new Mars rover. News out of the country suggested that while the rover landed safely, it had to go through all of its diagnostic tests before its handlers back on Earth would even bother to collect photos from the rover showing the Martian surface. Apparently, that was totally incorrect, because mere hours after writing that news, China did the exact opposite and published two new photos and two videos from the mission.

The two photos are definitely the most interesting of the released media as they show the Martian surface. The two short video clips show the moments after the Mars lander was released by the orbiter and began descending to the surface. It’s unclear why China chose to release the images so soon after officials suggested that the world would be waiting weeks to see them, but they’re definitely a welcome surprise.

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