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 colour-coded topographic image shows Aganippe Fossa, a snaking groove found at the foot of Mars’s giant Arsia Mons volcano. It was created from data collected by ESA’s Mars Express on 13 December 2023 and is based on a digital terrain model of the region, from which the topography of the landscape can be derived. Lower altitude parts of the surface are shown in blues and purples, while higher altitude regions show up in whites and reds, as indicated on the scale to the top right.
North is to the right. The ground resolution is approximately 25 m/pixel and the image is centred at about 3°S/233°E.
[Image description: This colourful rectangle of Mars is bumpy and irregular in the left half, with numerous small mounds clustering together and a number of jagged grooves and ridges seen throughout. The right half of the frame is smoother and marked by zebra-like stripes, a result of windblown dust. A dark scar, reminiscent of a dashed line, emerges from the bottom-middle of the image and arcs round to the middle-right. The image is coloured in hues of blue, green and red to indicate land height. A key shows that lower altitude land is coloured purple/blue, then we move through green and red to the highest altitude land in white/brown.]