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Mars Express confirms methane in the Martian atmosphere

30 March 2004

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The Mars Express spacecraft in orbit around Mars.

Credits: ESA 2001, Illustration by Medialab

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Color image of the Hecates Tholus volcano

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This colour image of the Hecates Tholus volcano was taken by the High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) on Mars Express in orbit 32 on from an altitude of 275 km.

It shows the summit caldera of Hecates Tholus, the northernmost volcano of the Elysium volcano group. The volcano reveals multiple caldera collapses. On the flanks of Hecates Tholus several flow features related to water (lines radiating outwards) and pit chains related to lava can be observed.

The volcano has an elevation of 5300 m, the caldera has a diameter of maximum 10 km and a depth of 600 m.

The image centre is located at 150° East and 31.7° North. North is at the top.

Credits: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin (G. Neukum)

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