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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The image, taken on 27 April 2020 and centred at 52.3°S, 351.8°E, shows part of an impact crater located inside the larger Green Crater in the Argyre quadrangle in the southern hemisphere of Mars.
The image reveals an almost black dune field on the right, surrounded by red soils that are partially covered with bright white ice. Gullies, also partially covered with ice, are visible in the crater wall in the centre of the image. Scientists are currently investigating the relationship between this seasonal ice and the presence of the gullies. The image was taken just after the spring equinox in the southern hemisphere of Mars, when the southernmost part of the crater (to the right) was almost completely free of ice while the northern part (centre) was still partially covered. The southern crater wall has had a longer exposure to the Sun (like on Earth equator-facing slopes receive more sunlight), so the ice in this area recedes faster.