NASA says it could be another 20 years before humans touch down on Mars, but in a sense, the Mars Society has been exploring the red planet for more than a decade – in Utah. Photo: Csilla Orgel, a geologist of Crew 125 EuroMoonMars B mission, makes her way back to the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) in the Utah desert March 3, 2013. The MDRS aims to investigate the feasibility of a human exploration of Mars and uses the Utah desert's Mars-like terrain to simulate working conditions on the red planet. Scientists, students and enthusiasts work together developing field tactics and studying the terrain. All outdoor exploration is done wearing simulated spacesuits and carrying air supply packs and crews live together in a small communication base with limited amounts of electricity, food, oxygen and water. Everything needed to survive must be produced, fixed and replaced on site. (Photo by Jim Urquhart/Reuters)

A serene turquoise glow glimmers from underneath these powerful icebergs. Stood in the middle of Antarctica, the giant icebergs appear to be from an unearthly world. These stunning photographs were captured by American photographer Michael Leggero. “My images show pure nature, as that is how I describe Antarctica, simply pure nature”, says the 43 year old, of Carthage, New York. “It is the only place on our planet that humans have not left a presence behind”. (Photo by Michael Leggero/Hotspotmedia/Visual Press Agency)

This huge male orangutan is having a right old laugh as he squints his eyes and shows his huge teeth. The orangutan, called Bimbo, was relaxing on a platform around 5m high in his enclosure when he broke out into a laugh. But his happy smile soon disappeared when another orangutan came over to see what was going on. Bimbo – the only male in the group of five apes at Leipzig Zoo, in Germany - appears to be laughing in much the same way as a human would. (Photo by Martina Radtke/Solent News)

Photographer Emily Dryden and sculptor/actor Zahydé Pietri combine theatricality and organic produce to compose the photographs for their series Fresh Faces. The portraits are made from a wide range of fruit and vegetables and aim to highlight humanity’s diversity – Pietri is from Puerto Rico and Dryden is from New York. Each face has its own name and identity: “We have stories for them, which you can see in the expressions”, says Dryden, “but we decided to keep them to ourselves. We didn’t want to spoil that”. (Photo by Emily Dryden and Zahydé Pietri/The Guardian)

Polar frame, by Dmitry Kokh, Russia. When Kokh’s boat approached the small island of Kolyuchin in the Russian High Arctic, which had been abandoned by humans since 1992, he was surprised to spot movement in one of the houses. Binoculars revealed polar bears – more than 20 in total – exploring the ghost town. Dmitry used a low-noise drone to document them. (Photo by Dmitry Kokh/Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2022)

Brazilian tattoo artist Michel Praddo, also known as Diabao or Human Satan, and his wife Carol Praddo, known as Mulher Demonia or Demon Woman, take a picture with a fan at the beach shore in Praia Grande, Brazil on August 18, 2021. (Photo by Carla Carniel/Reuters)

A mannequin with boots is stuffed upside down in the snow in front of a home in Nisswa, Minnesota, on March 18, 2013. (Photo by Steve Kohls/The Brainerd Daily Dispatch)

P.S. All pictures are presented in high resolution. To see Hi-Res images – just TWICE click on any picture. In other words, click small picture – opens the BIG picture. Click BIG picture – opens VERY BIG picture (if available; this principle works anywhere on the site AvaxNews).

A picture released by the North Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) shows Kim Jong-un convening an urgent operation meeting at 0:30 am on March 29, 2013 at an undisclosed location, in which he ordered strategic rocket forces to be on standby to strike US and South Korean targets at any time. (Photo by KCNA via EPA)