Planet Mars: Korolev Crater | European Space Agency's Mars Express

Planet Mars: Korolev Crater | European Space Agency's Mars Express

This image from the European Space Agency’s Mars Express shows Korolev crater, an 82-kilometer-across feature found in the northern lowlands of Mars.

This plan mosaic comprises five different observational strips that have been combined to form a single image, gathered over orbits 18042 (captured on 4 April 2018), 5726, 5692, 5654, and 1412. It covers a region centred at 165° E, 73° N, and has aresolution of approximately 21 metres per pixel. 

This image was created using data from the nadir and color channels of the High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC). The nadir channel is aligned perpendicular to the surface of Mars, as if looking straight down at the surface.

Mars Express has now been in space for two decades, despite a planned initial lifetime of just 687 Earth days. It has achieved its aforementioned aims and revealed a wealth of knowledge about Mars in that time, making it undeniably one of the most successful missions ever sent to the Red Planet.

The orbiter will continue its study of Mars until at least the end of 2026, with an indicative extension from January 1, 2027 to December 31, 2028 to support the JAXA-led Mars Moons eXploration (MMX) mission (Japan), followed by two years of post-operations.

Credit: ESA/DLR/FUBerlin

Release Date: Dec. 20, 2018

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