ESA title

The mission

Since beginning science operations in 2004, Mars Express has provided breathtaking views of Mars in three dimensions. It has provided the most complete map of the chemical composition of the atmosphere, studied Mars’s innermost moon Phobos in unprecedented detail, and traced the history of water across the globe, demonstrating that Mars once harboured environmental conditions that may have been suitable for life.

 

  • Launch date: 2 June 2003
  • Arrival at Mars: December 2003
  • Status: In operation
  • Targets: Mars's atmosphere, surface and subsurface; Mars's moons Phobos and Deimos
Mars Express
Arcadia Planitia as seen by ESA’s Mars Express
Science & Exploration

Earth tones on Mars

26/06/2025 4794 views 47 likes
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Science & Exploration

Recipe for a ‘rocky road’ crater soaked in martian history

21/05/2025 3323 views 52 likes
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Mars Express
Enabling & Support

Mars Express updates software, potentially extending spacec…

16/05/2025 2806 views 30 likes
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Acheron Fossae as seen by ESA’s Mars Express
Science & Exploration

Martian rock on the move

09/04/2025 5423 views 75 likes
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Why is Mars red?
Science & Exploration

Have we been wrong about why Mars is red?

25/02/2025 22886 views 125 likes
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Frosty scene at the south pole of Mars
Science & Exploration

Dreaming of a white Christmas – on Mars

18/12/2024 4736 views 64 likes
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Cryptic terrain in Australe Scopuli on Mars
Science & Exploration

Cryptic Mars, a land shaped by ice

09/10/2024 6476 views 82 likes
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Caralis Chaos as seen by ESA’s Mars Express
Science & Exploration

Take a trip to Mars’s largest lake

07/08/2024 6381 views 85 likes
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A snaking scar on Mars
Science & Exploration

A snaking scar on Mars

03/07/2024 15854 views 81 likes
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Newfound frost atop Olympus Mons
Science & Exploration

Frosty volcanoes discovered in Mars’s tropics

10/06/2024 34590 views 57 likes
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Mars Inca City
Science & Exploration

Signs of spiders from Mars

24/04/2024 75511 views 118 likes
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Annotated image of Mars
Science & Exploration

Mars Express celebrates 25 000 orbits

27/03/2024 9657 views 106 likes
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Sand dunes meet stacked ice at Mars’s north pole
Science & Exploration

Sand dunes meet stacked ice at Mars’s north pole

28/02/2024 5937 views 62 likes
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Map of suspected ice at Mars’s equator
Science & Exploration

Buried water ice at Mars's equator?

18/01/2024 49426 views 99 likes
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Mars during the 2023 solar conjunction
Enabling & Support

Spacecraft fall silent as Mars disappears behind the Sun

17/11/2023 7436 views 126 likes
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 Green glow in the martian night
Science & Exploration

A green glow in the martian night

10/11/2023 11515 views 105 likes
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Science & Exploration

Landslides at the foot of Olympus Mons

23/08/2023 21025 views 244 likes
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The clays of Mawrth Vallis
Science & Exploration

The clays of Mawrth Vallis

19/07/2023 6176 views 134 likes
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Earth and Moon seen by Mars Express
Science & Exploration

Earth and Moon seen from Mars

12/07/2023 68047 views 323 likes
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Mars Express images combined to produce global Mars in colour
Science & Exploration

20 years of Mars Express: Mars as never seen before

02/06/2023 49342 views 389 likes
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The flanks of Ascraeus Mons
Science & Exploration

Chasms on the flanks of a martian volcano

09/05/2023 12250 views 172 likes
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Nectaris Fossae and Protva Valles
Science & Exploration

Deep fractures and water-carved valleys

31/01/2023 5976 views 137 likes
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Swirling craterscape at the south pole of Mars
Science & Exploration

Christmas craterscape

22/12/2022 7302 views 150 likes
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Mars dust storm in motion
Science & Exploration

Martian dust storms churn up Earth-like clouds

15/11/2022 18878 views 126 likes
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Mars Express HRSC image of Phobos, taken on 7 March 2010
Enabling & Support

A close encounter with a mysterious moon

28/10/2022 10233 views 200 likes
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Terra Sirenum, Mars
Science & Exploration

Craters and cracks on Mars

26/10/2022 5322 views 151 likes
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Science & Exploration

Mars and Jupiter moons meet

13/10/2022 22535 views 58 likes
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Science & Exploration

Chaotic crust contains clues to Mars’ watery past

31/08/2022 7532 views 131 likes
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Mars global map of hydrated minerals
Science & Exploration

New water map of Mars will prove invaluable for future expl…

22/08/2022 44094 views 144 likes
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Science & Exploration

Mars Express peers into Mars' 'Grand Canyon'

20/07/2022 31096 views 334 likes
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Mars Express
Enabling & Support

Software upgrade for 19-year-old martian water-spotter

21/06/2022 47518 views 227 likes
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Science & Exploration

Mars sleeps with one eye open

08/06/2022 10718 views 188 likes
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Science & Exploration

Tantalising tectonics

28/04/2022 9185 views 166 likes
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Utopia Planitia on Mars
Science & Exploration

Martian brain freeze

30/03/2022 12279 views 189 likes
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The Medusae Fossae formation
Science & Exploration

Caution! Martian wind at work

23/02/2022 6097 views 95 likes
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Perspective view of Jovis Tholus
Science & Exploration

Making a splash in a lava sea

26/01/2022 7443 views 243 likes
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'Fake' flybys help solve Phobos mystery
Science & Exploration

ESA’s Mars Express unravels mystery of martian moon using '…

02/12/2021 8449 views 99 likes
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Mars Express
Science & Exploration

Better understanding of Earth’s atmospheric chemistry from …

23/07/2021 5827 views 83 likes
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Spacecraft error data reveal cosmic ray behaviour - visualisation
Science & Exploration

Unique use of ESA spacecraft ‘housekeeping’ data reveals co…

28/06/2021 7637 views 93 likes
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Mars water data visualisation
Science & Exploration

Mars water loss shaped by seasons and storms

22/03/2021 12019 views 117 likes
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Return of the extremely elongated cloud on Mars
Science & Exploration

Mars Express unlocks the secrets of curious cloud

09/03/2021 21309 views 133 likes
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Science & Exploration

An interactive map to explore Jezero crater

18/02/2021 29221 views 106 likes
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Jezero Crater delta
Science & Exploration

Explore the Jezero neighbourhood

17/02/2021 18902 views 126 likes
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Jezero crater and surrounds
Science & Exploration

Jezero crater through the eyes of Mars Express

16/02/2021 20876 views 75 likes
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Festive silhouettes near Mars’ south pole
Science & Exploration

Dreaming of a red Christmas: Festive features spotted near …

17/12/2020 16699 views 215 likes
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Chaotic terrain in Mars’ Pyrrhae Regio
Science & Exploration

Creating chaos: Craters and collapse on Mars

19/11/2020 8159 views 197 likes
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Mars Express spies an ancient triple crater on Mars
Science & Exploration

An ancient crater triplet on Mars

29/10/2020 13802 views 199 likes
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Science & Exploration

Mars Express reveals processes shaping the Nereidum range

03/09/2020 2628 views 30 likes
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Topographic view of Tempe Fossae on Mars
Science & Exploration

Sculpted by nature on Mars

14/05/2020 5841 views 139 likes
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The inner Solar System
Science & Exploration

ESA scales down science mission operations amid pandemic

24/03/2020 9875 views 62 likes
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