ESA’s Mars Express orbiter celebrated its 25,000th orbit by capturing a stunning high-altitude image of Mars, featuring the Tharsis region and Phobos. Over two decades, the mission has extensively mapped Mars’s atmosphere, studied its moons, and provided new insights into its surface and geological features, significantly advancing our understanding of the planet. Credit: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin
Mars Express marks 25,000 orbits with a new image of Mars, showcasing volcanoes and the moon Phobos, highlighting the mission’s ongoing contributions to Martian science.
ESA’s Mars Express recently looped around Mars for the 25,000th time – and the orbiter has captured yet another spectacular view of the Red Planet to mark the occasion.
The new high-altitude view was taken by Mars Express’s High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC). It features many of Mars’s towering volcanoes and even includes a surprise appearance from the planet’s largest moon, Phobos.
Mars Express arrived at Mars in late 2003, and completed its 25,000th orbit on October 19, 2023. In the two decades since its arrival, the orbiter has completely transformed our understanding of the planet. It’s mapped the atmosphere more completely than ever before, traced the history of water across Mars’s surface, studied the two small martian moons in unprecedented detail, and returned breathtaking views of the planet in three dimensions.
This new image is no exception. It focuses on the Tharsis region, which covers about one-quarter of the planet’s surface and is home to Mars’s famously colossal volcanoes. Many volcanoes can be seen here: Olympus, Arsia, Pavonis and Ascraeus Mons, and Jovis, Biblis and Ulysses Tholus. Olympus Mons is the largest, reaching nearly 22 km high (compared to Mount Everest’s 8.8 km here on Earth).
This image from ESA’s Mars Express shows a slice of Mars imaged to mark a milestone for ESA’s Mars Express: its 25,000th orbit around the Red Planet. The stunning view shows volcanoes, valleys, craters, clouds, and even a flying visit from Mars’s largest moon, Phobos. This image comprises data gathered by Mars Express’s High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) on 19 October 2023 during orbit 25,000. It was created using data from the nadir channel, the field of view aligned perpendicular to the surface of Mars, and the color channels of the HRSC. The ground resolution is
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