Thanks to its mapping of the Martian surface, the OMEGA instrument on board ESA's Mars Express has identified clay beds which may have supported the development of life in the past, between 4.5 and 4.2 thousand millions years ago. So, these findings provide exciting sites for future Mars rovers to explore.

The background image shown here is a perspective false-colour view of the Mawrth Vallis region on Mars, derived from the HRSC instrument (ESA/DLR/FU Berlin - G. Neukum) onboard Mars Express. The artist's impression of a possible future rover is superimposed on top.