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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Syrtis Major is a volcanic province on Mars. This image from the High-Resolution Stereo Camera on ESA’s Mars Express orbiter shows lava flows in box 1. Filled craters and partly filled craters can be seen in box 2. The prevailing wind direction can be judged from the dispersal of the lighter-toned material. The smaller craters illustrate this clearly. The largest crater in the picture, highlighted in box 3, has a small central peak and contains a small dune field of darker-toned dunes. ESA’s Mars Express collected the data for this image on 8 June 2011 during orbit 9487. The image has a ground resolution of approximately 19 m per pixel.