SPACE.com Image Gallery: Mars Express: A Year of Discoveries

Mars Express: A Year of Discoveries

Grand Canyon of Mars

The High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) on-board ESA’s Mars Express orbiter took this picture on January 14, 2004. It shows a portion of a 1700 km long and 65 km wide swath, which was taken in south-north direction across the Grand Canyon of Mars (Valles Marineris). It is the first image of this size that shows the surface of Mars in high resolution (12 meters per pixel), in color and in 3D. This perspective view is computer-generated from the original image data. Click to enlarge.

Image: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin (G. Neukum)