This is a mosaic of Olympus Mons, the highest volcano on Mars, which towers 26 km above the surrounding plains. The image covers an area of approximately 600 000 sq. km and is colour-coded according to height based on data from the Digital Terrain Model (DTM). The High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) on board ESA Mars Express Orbiter imaged the region over 18 orbits. This image is an ortho-image mosaic, where the projecting rays are perpendicular to the plane of projection. This corrects any deformations introduced by an imaging camera. Such an image can be fitted directly on to a map. Photo via Newscom