Hi Res JPG (89 kB)
Mars Express Earth-Moon image.
On the night of 3 July 2003, the
Mars Express spacecraft was pointed backwards to obtain a view of the
Earth-Moon system from a distance of 8 million kilometres while on its
way to Mars. This image is the first picture of planetary objects obtained
by the Mars Express?s High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC). Although
the spatial resolution is low at this great distance, the picture gives a
good indication of what to expect from Mars Express in its orbit around
Mars. At only 250-300 kilometres above Mars, the camera will obtain
very high-resolution images, in brilliant colour and impressive 3D of
most of the Martian surface, at resolutions of up to 2 metres. The
image was built by combining a super resolution black-and-white
snap-shot image of the Earth and the Moon taken by the HRSC with
colour information obtained by the blue, green, and red sensors
of the instrument.
Credits: Photo ESA/DLR/Freie Universität Berlin