UAE’s ‘Amal’ mission returns first image of Mars

The spacecraft entered into an orbit around the Red Planet on Tuesday; making the UAE the first Arab nation in history to have a scientific presence at Earth’s near neighbor.

The Emirates Mars Mission; also known as the Hope Probe; arrived at the red planet on Tuesday and successfully entered orbit on its first attempt.

The United Arab Emirates, subsequently, is now only the fifth country — and the first Arab country — to successfully arrive at Mars.

“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,” Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan said alongside the image on Twitter on Sunday.

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. We hope this mission will lead to new discoveries about Mars which will benefit humanity. pic.twitter.com/TCM5yHTapH

— محمد بن زايد (@MohamedBinZayed) February 14, 2021

The Hope Probe; which is kitted out with three scientific instruments; will create the first complete portrait of the Martian atmosphere. The instruments will collect atmospheric data points, as well as gauging seasonal and daily changes, which will help scientists to understand what climate dynamics and weathers are like in the different layers of Mars’ atmosphere. Experts also hope to find out more about how energy and particles — like oxygen and hydrogen — move through the Martian atmosphere.

Hope Probe was one of three Mars missions that launched last July; along with NASA’s Perseverance rover; which will land on Mars on February 18, and China’s Tianwen-1, which successfully entered the planet’s orbit on Wednesday.

Hope will orbit the planet; while Tianwen-1 will orbit the planet and land on it, and Perseverance will land on Mars.