ESA's Trace Gas Orbiter, analysing methane & other atmospheric gases that may be related to active biology or geology on Mars.
In Mars orbit!
Joined September 2015
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That’s right, I see Mars in a whole range of colours! 😍 Scientists on Earth find it useful to reveal the planet’s composition and decipher a landscape that took shape 3.6 billion years ago.
Zoom in on my high-resolution view of the landscape below 👉 esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Image…
Metallic Mars 🤘🏼
A new image reveals a heavy presence of iron, magnesium and aluminium in the Mawrth Vallis region.
👀 We call it the Red Planet, but a fine camera on Europe's Trace Gas Orbiter can capture more colours on Mars than our eyes can see: esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Image…
ALT False colour image of the Mawrth Vallis region on Mars.
🧑🎄 Getting ready for Christmas? I'm getting ready for #Mars ‘solar conjunction season’ 🔴🌞🌍
Happening roughly once every 25 months, during this period the Red Planet is located on the opposite side of the Sun from Earth, making it tricky for me and other spacecraft at Mars to talk to Earth.
Learn more below 👇
Spacecraft fall silent as Mars disappears behind the Sun...
🌍📡❔ ---- ☀️ ---- 🛰️❕ 🔴 🛰️❕
esa.int/Enabling_Support/Ope…
#MarsConjunction
🆕science alert! I've spotted a green glow 🟢 lighting up Mars's night sky – something long suspected to exist but never spotted before.
Under clear skies, the glow could be bright enough for humans and rovers to see by 👀
Find out more 👉esa.int/Science_Exploration/…
New science alert! I’ve spotted something weird in Mars' atmosphere! 🔴🛰️🔍
Turns out that #Mars' carbon monoxide is ‘lighter’ than it should be. But why?
Could biology be to blame… or is it all a matter of chemistry? 🤔 ☀️
👉 esa.int/Science_Exploration/…
#ExploreFarther [1/2]
ALT Infographic showing how oddly ‘light’ carbon monoxide forms in Mars’ atmosphere. It shows carbon dioxide molecules being split by sunlight to form carbon monoxide and oxygen, with an illustration of Mars' red-hued surface below.
Excitingly, this clarifies a tantalising puzzle found by @MarsCuriosity in 2022. Curiosity saw that rock samples from Gale Crater were also weirdly lacking in heavy carbon – a signature that’s typically associated with life here on Earth. Background: mars.nasa.gov/news/9113/nasa… [2/2]
Red Mars, blue Mars… ever wondered why my images are typically blue?!
Enjoy this 🆕 image of #Mars, part of Alga Crater, and look through my @ExoMars_CaSSIS eyes to dig deeper into the reasons why I see Mars this way 🔴👀esa.int/Science_Exploration/…
The devil’s in the detail 😈 – and you won’t want to miss even a scrap of the detail in this amazing view of #Mars from @ExoMars_CaSSIS! 🤩
This chaotic, windswept landscape is covered by eerie dust devil tracks 🔴🌪️
More info: esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Image…
#ExoMars #ExploreFarther
Just me, or does this impact crater look like a tree stump with characteristic rings?! Worlds apart, but just as tree rings provide snapshots of Earth’s past climate, the patterns inside this ice-rich crater reveal details of Mars history #ExploreFarther
📷esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Image…
Start me up #2022! Zoom into my first image release of the new (Earth) year to spot rolling stones on #Mars! 😉
📷🔍👀esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Image… @ExoMars_CaSSIS @RollingStones #rollingstones #ExploreFarther
From #Mars with love this holiday season: an ice-filled crater set against the deep red of the surface, all the way from the planet's north pole ❄️☃️
Explore hi-res👉
esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Image… 📷 @ExoMars_CaSSIS
New image from #Mars! Part of the Ritchey impact crater, including its central uplift raised from depth during the impact process itself, and a variety of different textures and features within! #ExploreFarther 📷 esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Image… @ExoMars_CaSSIS
And here 👇 in a different colour scheme to help differentiate between different materials to understand more about the history of the region
xitter.twitterapi.xyz/ExoMars_CaSSIS/status/…
Breaking news: I've spotted hidden #water – either ice or water-rich minerals 🤔 – in #Mars’ Grand Canyon! ❄️💧🔴
The reservoir is large, not too deep below ground, & could be easily exploitable for future explorers 🤩
Read on: esa.int/Science_Exploration/…
#ExploreFarther #ExoMars
Knowing more about how & where water exists on present-day #Mars is essential to understand what happened to Mars’ once-abundant water – and helps us search for habitable environments and possible signs of past #LifeonMars.
👉esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Image…
#ExploreFarther
Groovy! Love the way the evening shadows make this impact crater look particularly dramatic. Look at those striking(!) grooves radiating out from the centre! 🕳☄️
esa.int/Science_Exploration/…
📷 @ExoMars_CaSSIS #ExoMars #ExploreFarther #Mars
ALT Shadowed impact crater with radiating grooved terrain
North-facing icy scarps inside this impact crater on #Mars stand out in this new pic taken by @ExoMars_CaSSIS ❄️🕳
📷 Hi-res & more info 👉esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Image… #explorefarther #exomars
ALT carbon dioxide frost inside crater wall on Mars
Two-for-one science! Find out how me and my buddy Mars Express have been teaming up and using our short-range radios, normally used to talk to landers and rovers on the surface, to probe the atmosphere of #Mars instead! 🛰〰️🟠〰️🛰 blogs.esa.int/rocketscience/… #ExploreFarther #Teamwork
Double strike!☄️🕳🕳
A spectacular double crater dominates this scene on #Mars, formed by the simultaneous impact of two projectiles.
📷 @ExoMars_CaSSIS
esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Image…
These beautiful swirls are thoroughly mesmerising, don't you think?! I imaged this landscape in the deep Hellas basin of #Mars with @ExoMars_CaSSIS 📷
Explore the scene👉
esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Image… #ExploreFarther
#OTD five years ago, I arrived at #Mars! I used aerobraking to get into my science orbit and have been studying the planet's atmosphere in great detail since! I also enjoy taking photos 🙂 More about my mission, together with @ESA_MarsRover 👉 esa.int/ExoMars #ExoMars
🌪 Enjoyed a spot of dust devil hunting on one of my flights over the northern hemisphere this spring 🌪 Can you spot them?
🔍👀esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Image…
🔴 New @ExoMars_CaSSIS image from #Mars!
Zoom in to the hi-res image to discover exquisite detail of layered deposits exposed in the floor of a 50 km-wide crater
🔍👀esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Image…
#ExploreFarther #Exomars
🔴 New image from #Mars showing the volcanic region of Elysium Planitia!
I am looking straight down into two blue trenches, called Cerberus Fossae, which likely formed by tectonic processes.
Enjoy the full view here 👉esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Image…
📷 image by @ExoMars_CaSSIS
The trenches are filled with coarse-grained sand, likely basaltic in composition, which appears blue in my @ExoMars_CaSSIS false-colour image.
