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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An oblique perspective view of a portion of the south polar Australe Scopuli region on Mars. It features an array of periglacial landforms including exposed layers of ice and dust (left), bright fans (right) and dark, patterned terrain (far right).
The image was generated from the digital terrain model and the nadir and colour channels of the High Resolution Stereo Camera on ESA’s Mars Express.
[Image description: A perspective view of periglacial features near the south pole of Mars. At the top left an exposed stack of bright and dark layers of ice and dust are seen. Groups of icy bright fan shapes are seen to the right of centre and top. At far right dark polygons bounded by bright ice create a dark patch on the otherwise brown-ish surface.]