Key Highlights :
     To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Mars Express orbiter launch, the European Space Agency (ESA) has released a sweeping mosaic map of the Red Planet. This mosaic image was created from 90 images taken from the Mars Express orbiter, which has been orbiting Mars since 2003.
     The Mars Express orbiter has been a remarkable success for the ESA, having set records for data transmission and being the first spacecraft to livestream from another world. The orbiter has helped to clarify the features of the Martian surface from on high, providing evidence of volcanic activity, signs that raging rivers once carved canyons, and more.
     The mosaic image of the Martian surface was created from images taken from 4,000 to 10,000 kilometres above the planet’s surface. The orbiter usually images the Martian surface from much closer, but to produce such a sweeping mosaic of a swathe of Mars, the orbiter moved to higher altitudes. Its High Resolution Stereo Camera (HSRC) was used to capture the images taken during the 21,688th orbit.
     The opacity of the Martian atmosphere fluctuates, making it hard to pin down colours on the surface. To produce the mosaic image, ESA scientists colour-referenced each image to a model, resulting in a more vivid mosaic. The grays and bluish colours on the surface are basaltic sands, forged by Mars’ volcanic past. Sulphate deposits and haze cover the deep canyon of Valles Marineris, a system so large that if on Earth it would stretch from Sicily to the northern edge of Norway.
     The mission was designed to last one Mars year and it’s lasted 10 times that. The Mars Express orbiter has orbited Mars over 24,000 times in its 20-year tenure, and the mission is currently extended through 2026. As the orbiter continues to explore the Martian surface, it will no doubt send us more remarkable images of the Red Planet.