Mars Valles Marineris
Mars Express

Looking down from orbit on January 14, ESA'sMarsExpress spacecraft scanned a 1700 by 65 kilometerswath acrossValles Marineris - the Grand Canyon of Mars - with its remarkable High Resolution Stereo Camera. This spectacular picturereconstructs part of the scanned region from the stereo colour image data recording the rugged terrain with a resolution of 12 metres per pixel. Joining Mars Global Surveyor andMars Odyssey , Mars Express has been orbiting the red planet since December 25th, returning scientific data, acting as a communications relay, and even making coordinated atmospheric observations with NASA'sSpirit Rover on the surface. The Beagle 2 lander was released from Mars Express making a landing attempt also on December 25th, but no signal has been received so far.