Phobos Moon over Martian dust storm near Pavonis Mons | Europe's Mars Express

Phobos Moon over Martian dust storm near Pavonis Mons | Europe's Mars Express

The European Space Agency (ESA) Mars Express spacecraft's High Res­o­lu­tion Stereo Cam­era (HRSC) captured these views of the Martian moon Phobos above a Martian dust storm near Pavonis Mons. Pavonis Mons (Latin for "peacock mountain") is a large shield volcano located in the Tharsis region of the planet Mars. It is the middle member of a chain of three volcanic mountains (collectively known as the Tharsis Montes) that straddle the Martian equator between longitudes 235°E and 259°E. The volcano was discovered by the Mariner 9 spacecraft in 1971, and was originally called Middle Spot. Its name formally became Pavonis Mons in 1973. A shield volcano is a type of volcano characterized by its low profile and broad, gently sloping sides, resembling a warrior's shield lying on the ground. They are primarily formed by the eruption of low-viscosity basaltic lava that allows the lava to flow over great distances, creating a wide, shield-like shape. 

The HRSC camera on Mars Express is operated by the German Aerospace Center (DLR). The systematic processing of the camera data took place at the DLR Institute for Planetary Research in Berlin-Adlershof.

Mars Express has now been in space for over twenty-two years, 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 Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (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 and has supported scientific work 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. This is a monumental shift from our previous view of the planet that characterized it as an eternally cold and arid world.

Mars Express has identified and mapped signs of past water across Mars—from minerals that only form in the presence of water to water-carved valleys, groundwater systems, and ponds lurking below ground—and traced its influence and prevalence through martian history. It has peered deep into the Martian atmosphere, mapping how gases (water, ozone, methane) are distributed and escape to space, and watching as dust is whipped up from the surface into the air. The mission has seen giant dust storms engulf the planet, creating familiar clouds like those we see on Earth, and tracked rare ultraviolet auroras. 

The orbiter has seen signs of recent and episodic volcanism and tectonics, and explored the planet’s unique surface features, mapping 98.8% of Mars and creating thousands of 3D images of impact craters, canyons (including the Valles Marineris system), the planet’s icy poles, immense volcanoes and more.

Learn more: 
https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Mars_Express

Image Credit: ESA/DLR/FUBerlin/AndreaLuck via creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.en
Release Date: Dec. 27, 2025

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