spacetoday.net: ESA releases first Mars Express images

Posted: Mon, Jan 19, 2004, 6:41 PM ET (2341 GMT)
Mars Express image of Valles Marineris (ESA)

The European Space Agency released on Monday the first high-resolution color images of Mars taken by its Mars Express spacecraft. The images, taken on January 14 and released Monday, show a 1700x65 km portion of Valles Marineris as seen from an altitude of 275 km. Scientists used the stereoscopic image, taken by the spacecraft's High Resolution Stereo Camera, to generate a 3-D perspective of the region. The color image has a resolution of 12 meters per pixel. The other six instruments on Mars Express are in various phases of initialization and calibration, although ESA said that the spacecraft has also successfully collected spectra of the planet's surface. The spacecraft is expected to enter routine scientific operations over the next few weeks.