First Look

Bright patches of ice and streaks of windblown dust cover the rim of Korolev Crater on Mars in this view from Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO), a European craft that is beginning its science mission. The orbiter will search for traces of methane and other gases in the planet's outer atmosphere. Other missions have detected small amounts of methane, which could be produced by microorganisms. TGO, which formed half of the ExoMars 2016 mission (the other half, a lander, failed), arrived at Mars in 2016, then spent more than a year maneuvering to its final orbit. Taken on April 15, this is the first image snapped with its color camera. The view spans roughly 6 by 20 miles (10 x 30 km). [ESA/Roscosmos/CaSSIS]