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

10 metre imaging resolution

8 instruments

1120 kg launch mass

2 decades of operation

Latest news

[ Mars Express ]

07 OCT. 2026

Mars’s oddest cloud may be even odder than we thought

Scientists using the European Space Agency's Mars Express, in combination with a state-of-the-art meteorological model of the Red Planet, have found that there may be some very exotic physics behind Mars’s most curious cloud.

Read article

[ Mars Express ]

16 SEP. 2026

Purple swirls on the Red Planet

This image shows a prominent ice cliff near Mars’s south pole. With striking swirls of purple, pink and red, it’s a far cry from the colour palette we usually associate with the Red Planet.

Read article

[ Mars Express ]

15 JUL. 2026

Metallic waves on ancient Mars

The European Space Agency’s Mars Express has spotted a swathe of metallic-looking waves filling Mars’s large Kaiser Crater – an ancient and otherworldly dune field sculpted by wind.

Read article

[ Mars Express ]

17 JUN. 2026

Dozens of dust devils hidden in plain sight

The European Space Agency’s Mars Express has captured part of Mars’s Mamers Valles: a fascinating valley system speckled with brief, tornado-like whirlwinds known as dust devils.

Read article

Featured images

All Mars Express images

Featured videos

All Mars Express videos

[ Science ]

19 AUG. 2026

Fly around Schiaparelli Crater with Mars Express

Play

[ Science ]

02 OCT. 2025

Fly over Xanthe Terra with Mars Express

Play

[ Science ]

19 NOV. 2024

Fly around Ares Vallis on Mars: Fly around Ares Vallis on Mars - unannotated version

Play

[ Science ]

29 MAY. 2024

Fly across Nili Fossae with ESA’s Mars Express

Play

[ Science ]

10 OCT. 2023

Fly across Mars’s ‘labyrinth of night’ with Mars Express

Play

To mark 20 years of ESA’s Mars Express, the High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) team has produced a new global colour mosaic: Mars as never seen before. The mosaic reveals the planet’s surface colour and composition in spectacular detail.

Mars Express

The mission

Latest news