The European Space Agency (ESA) is Europe’s gateway to space. Its mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.
Find out more about space activities in our 23 Member States, and understand how ESA works together with their national agencies, institutions and organisations.
Exploring our Solar System and unlocking the secrets of the Universe
Go to topicProtecting life and infrastructure on Earth and in orbit
Go to topicUsing space to benefit citizens and meet future challenges on Earth
Go to topicMaking space accessible and developing the technologies for the future
Go to topicThank you for liking
You have already liked this page, you can only like it once!
Landscape on Mars taken by NASA's Curiosity rover after crossing a dune.
This image was taken by the rover's Mast Camera (Mastcam) on the 538th martian day, or sol, of Curiosity's work on Mars (9 February 2014). The rover had driven over the dune three days earlier. For scale, the distance between the parallel wheel tracks is about 2.7 m. The dune is about 1 m tall in the middle of its span across an opening called "Dingo Gap." The view is looking eastward.
The image has been white-balanced to show what the Martian surface materials would look like if under the light of Earth's sky. A version with raw color, as recorded by the camera under Martian lighting conditions, is available here.