Editing Mars Express (section)

=== Thermal ===
Thermal control is maintained through the use of radiators, [[multi-layer insulation]], and actively controlled heaters. The spacecraft must provide a benign environment for the instruments and on-board equipment. Two instruments, PFS and OMEGA, have infrared detectors that need to be kept at very low temperatures (about −180&nbsp;°C). The sensors on the camera (HRSC) also need to be kept cool. But the rest of the instruments and on-board equipment function best at room temperatures (10–20&nbsp;°C).

The spacecraft is covered in gold-plated aluminium-tin alloy thermal blankets to maintain a temperature of 10–20&nbsp;°C inside the spacecraft. The instruments that operate at low temperatures to be kept cold are thermally insulated from this relatively high internal temperature, and emit excess heat into space using attached radiators.<ref name="ref1" />