UAE’s ‘Hope’ Mars Mission Sends First Image Of Red Planet

The Hope mission by the United Arab Emirates has returned the first images of Mars after successfully entering into an orbit around the planet.

This first image was shared by the Ruler of Dubai and the Prime Minister of UAE, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum on Twitter.

Taken from an altitude of 24,700 kilometres by Hope’s EXI instrument, the image beautifully captures the largest volcano in the solar system, Olympus Mons.

The picture also depicts the north pole of Mars on the upper left whereas Olympus Mons is in the centre.

“The transmission of the Hope Probe’s first image of Mars is a defining moment in our history and marks the UAE joining advanced nations involved in space exploration,” the mission’s twitter account stated. “We hope this mission will lead to new discoveries about Mars which will benefit humanity.”

With this mission, the United Arab Emirates became the first Arab nation to have a presence on the Red planet.

The mission plans to orbit the Mars for at least one Martian year, or 687 days. It is due to study Mars’ weather and climate systems, answering crucial questions about the global Martian atmosphere and the loss of hydrogen and oxygen gases into space.

The mission was launched from the Tanegashima​ Space Centre​ in Japan in July 2020. With the launch, UAE became the only fifth country after the United States of America, Russia, China, the European Union, and India, to reach the Martian orbit.

This historic event, which is a defining one for the UAE, was timed to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the unification of the UAE’s seven emirates.

Isn’t this a fantastic achievement by the researchers and scientists in the UAE? What do you think? Let us know your views in the comments section below.