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' atmosphere, surface and subsurface; Mars' moons Phobos and Deimos
Mars Express

Latest

Coronal mass ejection on 27 May 2024
Science & Exploration

ESA’s Mars orbiters watch solar superstorm hit the Red Plan…

05/03/2026 3114 views 43 likes
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Counting craters in Mars’s ancient highlands
Science & Exploration

Counting craters

04/03/2026 1813 views 35 likes
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Overhead perspective of Flaugergues Crater
Science & Exploration

Explore Mars’s Flaugergues Crater

04/02/2026 3080 views 79 likes
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Mars Express sees sandblasted wind sculptures near Eumenides Dorsum
Science & Exploration

Sandblasting on Mars

07/01/2026 3846 views 64 likes
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Bird’s-eye view: the butterflies and dark layers of Idaeus Fossae
Science & Exploration

A martian butterfly flaps its wings

03/12/2025 9778 views 83 likes
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More items

  • Science & Exploration

    Global Mars in colour

    23/05/2023 23373 views 470 likes
    Open item
    Mars Express images combined to produce global Mars in colour
  • Science & Exploration

    Ius and Tithonium Chasmata on Mars

    20/07/2022 5555 views 82 likes
    Open item
  • Science & Exploration

    Utopia Planitia on Mars

    30/03/2022 6584 views 99 likes
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    Utopia Planitia on Mars
  • Science & Exploration

    Perspective view along icy layered ridge

    22/12/2022 2137 views 50 likes
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    Perspective view along icy layered ridge
  • Science & Exploration

    Fly over Xanthe Terra with Mars Express

    02/10/2025 7621 views 180 likes
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Mars Express overview