Mars as never seen before: Check out this spectacular new view of the Red Planet

To mark the 20th launchiversary of Mars Express, the European Space Agency (ESA) has released a new mosaic that shows the Red Planet's colour and composition in spectacular detail.

The Mars Express has been orbiting the planet since 2003, making it one of the longest-running missions to the Red Planet. Over the past two decades, the orbiter has provided valuable data and insights about the Martian environment to help better understand the planet's geology, topography, atmosphere, and other aspects.

The spacecraft carries a suite of scientific instruments including the High-Resolution Satereo Camera (HRSC), responsible for this mosaic, which typically captures images of the Martian surface from an altitude of approximately 300 km, providing detailed coverage of areas spanning about 50 km. However, a novel technique was employed to create this captivating mosaic. The camera collected 90 images from higher altitudes ranging between 4000 and 10,000 km, covering areas spanning approximately 2500 km in width. These individual images were combined to form a comprehensive global perspective of Mars.

In this spectacular new view, significant portions of Mars exhibit a strikingly dark and blue hue. These areas are comprised of grey-black basaltic sands, originating from volcanic processes. These sands, propelled by wind, accumulate and form extensive layers, giving rise to magnificent sand dunes and dune fields nestled within impact craters.

On the other hand, materials influenced by water display a lighter appearance. Among the most prevalent water-weathered minerals on Mars are clay and sulphate minerals, which manifest as noticeably bright features in such composite images.

To mark 20 years of #MarsExpress, here's #Mars as never seen before 🤯🔴It’s hard to take a bad picture of the #RedPlanet, but this one is truly wonderful. Mars Express has studied this fascinating world for two decades now – and counting!More 👉 https://t.co/ds3u0Q5eLU pic.twitter.com/9v5nzkeAYs

— ESA Science (@esascience) June 2, 2023