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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Tharsis Tholis towers 8 km above the surrounding terrain. Its base stretches 155 x 125 km and what marks it out as unusual is its battered condition. The main feature of Tharsis Tholus is the caldera at its centre. It has an almost circular outline, about 32 x 34 km, and is ringed by faults where the caldera floor has subsided by as much as 2.7 km.
The image was created using a Digital Terrain Model (DTM) obtained data taken by the High Resolution Stereo Camera on ESA’s Mars Express spacecraft during four orbits of Mars: 0997, 1019, 1041, 1052 between 28 October and 13 November 2004. Elevation data from the DTM is colour coded: purple indicates the lowest lying regions and beige the highest. The scale is in metres.