Dubai, United Arab Emirates
The “Hope” spacecraft in the United Arab Emirates sent its first image of Mars, a few days after successfully entering the orbit of the red planet, the national space agency announced on Sunday.
“The UAE’s Mars mission captured the image of the largest volcano in the solar system, Olympus Mons, which appeared in early sunlight,” the statement said.
The image was captured from an altitude of 24,700 km above the Martian surface on Wednesday, the day after the probe was installed in the orbit of Mars, according to a statement.
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Sheikh Mohamed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, Dubai’s prime minister and leader of Dubai, shared the color image in a tweet.
“The first image of Mars captured by the first Arab probe in history,” he wrote next to the photo.
This mission is designed to uncover the secrets of the Martian climate, but the Emirates also wants to serve as inspiration for young people in the region.
“Hope” became the first of three spacecraft to reach the red planet, after China and the United States launched missions in July, taking advantage of a period when Earth and Mars are closer.
The Emirates Mission also aims to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the unification of the seven emirates that make up the nation.
“Hope” will remain in the orbit of the red planet for at least a Martian year, or 687 days on Earth, deploying three scientific tools to analyze the Martian atmosphere.
It is scheduled to begin sending more information back to Earth in September 2021, with data available to scientists around the world.