This Mars photo from ESA's Mars Express spacecraft was taken on Dec. 15, 2012, and beamed to Earth on Dec. 18. The spacecraft was 9.761 kilometers from Mars at the time.
The Mars Express spacecraft (shown here in an artist's impression) of ESA confirmed the presence of methane on Mars.
Martian volcano Tharsis Tholis towers miles almost 5 miles (8 km) above the surrounding terrain. The image was created using a Digital Terrain Model (DTM) obtained from the High Resolution Stereo Camera on ESA’s Mars Express spacecraft. Elevation data from the DTM is color-coded: Purple indicates the lowest lying regions and beige the highest. The scale is in meters. In these images, the relief has been exaggerated by a factor of three.
Arabia Terra is one of the three equatorial regions where Europe¡¦s Mars Express PFS instrument detected both water vapor and methane concentration. The other two areas are Elysium Planum and Arcadia Memnonia. Image
Hemisphere view of Mars with one of the regions rich in phyllosilicate (clay) minerals outlined by the white box. The large, dark area right of center on the hemisphere view is Syrtis Major.
A topographic map sheet of a part of the Iani Chaos region on Mars, based on image data obtained with the High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) on board ESA's Mars Express. Such 'Topographic Image Map Mars 1:200 000' has been designed as an example of a possible standard map series for the HRSC experiment.
This radar map shows the thickness of the south polar layered deposits of Mars (purple represents the thinnest areas and red the thickest). The dark circle is the area poleward of 87 degrees south latitude, where MARSIS can’t collect radar data.
This Martian plain, Daedalia Planum, is located south of Arsia Mons, one of the three giant volcanoes that make up the Tharsis Montes. Credits: ESA/ DLR/ FU Berlin (G. Neukum)
3-D Digital Terrain Model of the Ius Chasma, using data from the High Resolution Stereo Camera.
An image of Phobos by the High-Resolution Stereo Camera on board Mars Express in Jan. 2008. The larger and inner of the two martian moons is seen here floating just above the Martian limb. The image has been enhanced slightly to bring out the detail on the moon.
The picture shows a topographic map of a crater in the Xanthe highlands, which held a lake 3.8 to 4 billion years ago. Sediments were deposited in the lake, forming a distinctly shaped delta. The lake was fed by a river that flowed through the Nanedi valley and into the crater from the south.
An artist's conception of the Mars Express craft with the MARSIS antenna in place.
This mosaic of images taken by an instrument aboard ESA's Mars Express shows the residual south polar cap at the end of the northern winter on Mars.
On July 23 2008, the High Resolution Stereo Camera on board the ESA’s Mars Express took the highest-resolution full-disc image yet of the surface of the moon Phobos.
This map shows the Aram Chaos region of Mars, where ESA's Mars Express found mineralogical evidence for large-scale deposits of ferric oxides (commonly known as 'rust' on Earth) and sulfates. The inset indicates the location of Aram Chaos on a MOLA topographic map of Mars.
Mars Express flew over the boundary between Kasei Valles and Sacra Fossae and imaged the region, acquiring spectacular views of the chaotic terrain in the area. The images are centred at 12°N/ 285°E and have a ground resolution of about 69 feet (21 m) per pixel.
The ESA spacecraft Mars Express took this new image of the Phobos-Grunt landing area on March 7, 2010. The insert marks the proposed landing region and sites for Phobos-Grunt. See the full story.
The ESA spacecraft Mars Express took this image of Phobos on March 7, 2010. This image has been enhanced for seeing features in the less-illuminated part of the moon.
The view of Phobos from all five channels on Mars Express' High Resolution Stereo Camera.
Europe’s Mars Express is circling the red planet, geared to detect gases within the martian atmosphere.
This image was acquired by the Mars Express High-Resolution Stereo Camera on 17 May 2010 and shows a part of the northern polar region of Mars at the northern hemisphere summer solstice.
The Eberswalde crater on Mars (smaller semicircle on right) used to be a water-filled lake, satellite data reveal. On the left is the larger Holden crater, which impacted later.
Martian volcano Tharsis Tholus towers miles almost 5 miles (8 km) above the surrounding terrain. The image was created using a Digital Terrain Model (DTM) obtained from the High Resolution Stereo Camera on ESA's Mars Express spacecraft. Elevation data from the DTM is color-coded: Purple indicates the lowest lying regions and beige the highest. The scale is in meters. In these images, the relief has been exaggerated by a factor of three.
Telltale delta features, such as squiggly lines that represent water feeder channels, can be seen in this Mars Express photo of Eberswalde Crater on the Red Planet.
Holden crater stretches 87 miles (140 km) across. It is located in the southern highlands of Mars. This perspective image was acquired by Mars Express on August 15, 2009.
Tharsis Tholus towers almost 5 miles (8 km) above the surrounding terrain of Mars. Its base stretches 96 x 77 miles (155 x 125 km), and is unusual in its battered condition. The main feature of Tharsis Tholus is the caldera at its centre. It has an almost circular outline, about 20 x 21 miles (32 x 34 km), and is ringed by faults where the caldera floor has subsided by as much as 1.6 miles (2.7 km). The image was created using a Digital Terrain Model (DTM) obtained data taken by the High Resolution Stereo Camera on ESA's Mars Express spacecraft during four orbits of Mars between October 28 and November 13, 2004. Elevation data from the DTM is color-coded: Purple indicates the lowest lying regions and beige the highest. The scale is in meters.
In this wider contextual image of the region surrounding Tharsis Tholus, the rectangles show the region covered in this Mars Express HRSC image release. The area is situated at approximately 13°N/268°E.
Mars' 3.7 billion-year-old Eberswalde crater can be seen here in relief. The crater offer more proof that liquid water once flowed on Mars.
Martian volcano Tharsis Tholus towers miles almost 5 miles (8 km) above the surrounding terrain. The image was created using a Digital Terrain Model (DTM) obtained from the High Resolution Stereo Camera on ESA's Mars Express spacecraft. Elevation data from the DTM is color-coded: Purple indicates the lowest lying regions and beige the highest. The scale is in meters. In these images, the relief has been exaggerated by a factor of three.