Photos: Red Planet Views from Europe's Mars Express

Half-Lit Mars by Mars Express

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.

Europe Extends Missions to Mars, Venus and Earth

The Mars Express spacecraft (shown here in an artist's impression) of ESA confirmed the presence of methane on Mars.

Martian Volcano Tharsis Tholus in Perspective

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.

Mars Express Yields Provocative Observations

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.

Study Reveals Young Mars Was A Wet World

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.

'Hiker's Maps' of Mars Created

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.

Giant Pool of Water Ice at Mars' South Pole

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.

Five Volcanic Episodes On Mars Identified by Scientists

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)

See Mars in 3-D

3-D Digital Terrain Model of the Ius Chasma, using data from the High Resolution Stereo Camera.

European Probe Swings Close by Martian Moon

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.

Study Suggests It Rained on Ancient Mars

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.