New images of Mars shared by UAE’s Hope probe

The UAE’s Hope probe has shared two new images of Mars taken late last month.

The probe’s Emirates Mars Ultraviolet Spectrometer took the images of atomic hydrogen surrounding Mars on April 24 and 25 after transitioning to the science orbit.

“This is the first mission to any planet that has been able to make images from different points of view over the course of a day,” a statement said.

The Emirates Ultraviolet Spectrometer (EMUS) took images of atomic hydrogen surrounding Mars on 24 & 25 April 2021 after transitioning to the Science Orbit. EMM is the first mission at any planet that is able to make images from different points of view over the course of a day. pic.twitter.com/65h2qyYkML

— Hope Mars Mission (@HopeMarsMission) May 11, 2021

“During the 10 hours 34 minutes between the images, the Hope probe moved from being over the planet near noon and viewing the entire dayside (top) to being over the planet at dusk and seeing both the day and night side (bottom),” the mission said.

“These images will be used to reconstruct the 3D distribution of hydrogen and learn more about its production through the process of splitting water molecules by sunlight and its eventual escape to space,” it added.

The Hope probe successfully entered Mars’ orbit in February, making the UAE the fifth country in the world and the first in the Arab region to reach the red planet.

Read: UAE Hope Probe achieves historic milestone, successfully enters Mars orbit

The first-ever image of Mars captured by the Emirates Mars Mission’s Hope Probe was shared on February 14, and was captured 25,000 kilometres above its surface.

Read: Sheikh Mohammed tweets first picture of Mars taken by Hope Probe

The mission’s two-year science data collection will formally commence on May 23, 2021, with data being made available globally in October.

The Hope probe carries three science instruments:

EXI – The Emirates eXploration Imager is a 12 megapixel digital camera that captures high-resolution images of Mars along with measuring water ice and ozone in the lower atmosphere through the UV bands.

EMIRS – The Emirates Mars InfraRed Spectrometer collects information on surface and atmospheric temperatures and measures the global distribution of dust, ice cloud, and water vapour in the Martian lower atmosphere.

EMUS – The Emirates Mars Ultraviolet Spectrometer measures oxygen and carbon monoxide in the thermosphere and the variability of hydrogen and oxygen in the exosphere.

Read: UAE Hope Probe transitions to Science Orbit