Where is Mars Express right now?

Orbital Radar tracks Mars Express in real time from NASA JPL Horizons ephemeris data, showing its live distance from Earth and the Sun, current speed and one-way signal delay, updated every 60 seconds. ESA's first planetary mission — orbiting Mars since 2003, discovered subsurface water ice deposits.

How far is Mars Express from Earth?

Mars Express's distance from Earth changes constantly as both bodies move through the solar system. The live figure — in kilometres and astronomical units (AU), with the matching light-travel (signal) time — is shown at the top of this page and refreshes automatically.

LIVE — JPL HORIZONS

🇪🇺 Mars Express

ESA's first planetary mission — orbiting Mars since 2003, discovered subsurface water ice deposits.

🏢 ESA·🎯 Mars Orbit·📅 Launched 2003-06-02·⚡ Active

    🕐
    —days
    —h
    —m
    —s in space
  

Loading orbit view…

Europe's First Mars Mission

Mars Express has made groundbreaking discoveries including detecting subsurface water ice with its MARSIS radar, finding methane in the Martian atmosphere, and capturing high-resolution 3D colour images with its HRSC stereo camera. Originally planned for one Martian year, it has operated for over 22 years.

Subsurface Water

In 2018, MARSIS detected radar reflections consistent with a body of liquid water beneath the south polar ice cap — one of the most significant Mars discoveries of the decade. A 2022 software upgrade further improved the radar's detection capabilities.