Planet Mars: Cloudy Giant Shield Volcano Ascraeus Mons | Europe's Mars Express

Planet Mars: Cloudy Giant Shield Volcano Ascraeus Mons | Europe's Mars Express

Like Earth, Mars has many volcanoes and volcanic features. This view shows Ascraeus Mons, one of the three giant shield volcanoes known as the "Tharsis Montes." Volcanoes form when magma (molten rock) erupts out onto the surface of a planet. Based on Viking-era observations, Ascraeus Mons is considered to be one of the tallest volcanoes on Mars. It measures a towering 18 km in height but its slopes are gentle with an average incline of 7 degrees. This slow climb is reflected in the volcano’s huge base diameter of 480 km, giving it a footprint roughly the size of Romania on Earth. Ascraeus Mons is surpassed in height only by Olympus Mons, the tallest volcano not only on Mars but in the entire Solar System. Ascraeus Mons (AM) is the northeastern most large shield volcano residing in the Tharsis region, a volcanic plateau in Mars’ western hemisphere.

ESA Mars Express Instrument: High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC)
Orbit: 24799

Mars Express has now been in space for over 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 a special 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.

Mars Express has conducted data relay for seven rovers and landing platforms (more information), and enabled scientific collaboration with a further five orbiters.

The past 20 years of observations from Mars Express have solidified our picture of Mars as a once-habitable planet, with warmer and wetter epochs that may have been oases for ancient life. 

Image Credit: ESA/DLR/FUBerlin
Image Processing: Andrea Luck
Image Date: Aug. 22, 2023

Release Date: May 18, 2025

#NASA #ESA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Planet #Mars #Geology #Volcanoes #AscraeusMons #TharsisProvince #MarsExpress #MarsExpressSpacecraft #HRSC #Europe #DLR #FUBerlin #Berlin #Germany #Deutschland #STEM #Education