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
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Chasma Boreale (box 1) is about 2 km deep, 580 km long and about 100 km wide. Its walls allow a perfect view into the strata within the deposits. On the canyon floor impact craters are visible, some heavily covered by sand and some partly exhumed. Dark and light-toned deposits (box 2) deposits can be seen in a fine and regular covering. The darker sediments have been dropped by the winds during spring dust storms. The patterns are created when the deposits change in quantity according to the seasons.
The northern polar ice cap is surrounded by a large dune field (box 3), parts of which extend 600 km to the south.