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The United Arab Emirates’ Hope probe mission captured a striking image of Mars, taken from an altitude of around 1,325 kilometers above the red planet’s surface.
The image, which was obtained on March 15 this year, was shared on the Hope Mars Mission’s official Twitter account on Sunday and has since racked up hundreds of likes and retweets.
The shot highlights the Elysium Planitia volcanic region of the planet, which the mission team began to orbit earlier in the year on February 9.
This EXI image was obtained on 15 March 2021 from an approximate altitude 1,325km above Mars’ surface, viewing Elysium Planitia volcanic region with a resolution of 145m/pixel. pic.twitter.com/bOvCVfMQ0D
— Hope Mars Mission (@HopeMarsMission) August 1, 2021
The Hope Probe’s mission is to provide vital insights into the planet itself by examining the make-up of different layers of the red planet’s atmosphere using a combination of visible-light, infrared and ultraviolet cameras.
It also aims to measure the depth of surface ice, carbon monoxide, and oxygen levels in its atmosphere, as well as the distribution of dust, ice clouds, temperatures, water vapor in the lower atmosphere.
It left Earth from Japan’s Tanegashima Island on July 20, 2020, and reached the planet’s orbit almost seven months later.
The UAE made history with its Hope probe, becoming the Arab world’s first nation and the fifth in the world to send a probe to Mars. The country has also set an ambitious goal to build a human colony on Mars by 2117.
