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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This oblique perspective view of Lycus Sulci was generated from the digital terrain model and the nadir and colour channels of the High Resolution Stereo Camera on ESA’s Mars Express. It shows wrinkled, ridged terrain lying at the edges of the ‘aureole’ of Olympus Mons, Mars’s tallest and most imposing volcano. These ridges, created by landslides and lava-driven rockfalls, have become more prominent over time due to ongoing erosion by wind.
Image description: This tan-coloured patch of Mars's surface shows Lycus Sulci, on the aureole of Olympus Mons. Lycus Sulci is a patch of deeply textured and wrinkled ground, resembling lots of uneven ridges rising from the terrain. This image offers a close-up perspective view as if looking down over and across the region, with the ridges stretching away from the viewer.