Dubai, United Arab Emirates
The UAE’s “Hope” spacecraft sent its first image of Mars a few days after successfully entering red planet orbit, the national space agency announced on Sunday.
“The UAE Mars Mission has captured the image of the solar system’s largest volcano, Olympus Mons, emerging in the early morning sunlight,” a statement said.
The image was captured from an altitude of 24,700 km above the Martian surface last Wednesday, the day after the spacecraft was installed in orbit around Mars, a statement said.
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Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al-Maktum, Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and ruler of Dubai shared the color image in a tweet.
“First image of Mars captured by the first Arab spacecraft 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 it to serve as inspiration for the region’s youth.
“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 lapse during which Earth and Mars are closer together.
The mission of the Emirates 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 one Martian year, or 687 Earth days, deploying three scientific instruments to analyze the Martian atmosphere.
It is expected to begin sending more information to Earth in September 2021, with data available to scientists around the world.