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!
This detailed view of the approximately 1 km high mound inside Becquerel crater reveals its intricate layering. The layers are just a few metres thick each and are composed of sulphate-bearing minerals left behind after water has evaporated. Repeating patterns in the layers could reflect climatic changes that occurred as Mars evolved from a warm, wet world into a cold, dry planet some 3.5–3.8 billion years ago. The dark sediments were likely blown in from outside the crater, but local erosion of the mound may also have contributed to the supply of sediment.
Becquerel crater and its immediate surrounds were imaged during four orbits of Mars Express around the Red Planet: on 22 July 2006 (orbit 3253), and 26 February, 2 and 7 March 2008, corresponding to orbits 5332, 5350 and 5368, respectively. Becquerel crater lies within Arabia Terra, at about 22°N/352°E.