United Arab Emirates Shared Hope Probe's Stunning First-Ever Mars Photo

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) shared Hope orbiter's stunning first image of Mars.

The spacecraft, which is also the first Arab nation's project to enter Mars, is part of the Hope mission of the UAE to research the environment and atmosphere of the Red Planet. But the people behind the probe made sure to take a beautiful photo of the planet before working.

The chief of the UAE, Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, declared this victorious news on Twitter, calling it a "defining moment" in the country's history.

Volcano Row

The picture depicts the three shield volcanoes of Mars, all in a formation and the largest documented volcano in the solar system, Olympus Mons.

On Feb. 9, the probe reached the Red Planet's orbit and would orbit around Mars for months to obtain further details regarding the planet's environment. It will calculate dust, ice clouds, water vapor distribution, and temperature as part of this project so that researchers will better grasp how Mars' seasons function.

UAE's Mission

But it's not all about obtaining evidence about the environment on Mars. The orbiter, referred to in English as "Al Amal" or Hope, aims to inspire citizens' trust in the Middle East.

Sarah Al Amiri, Chair of the UAE Council of Scientists and Deputy Project Manager for the Emirates Mars Mission, told CNet that they were planning to "internal reinforcement" what the UAE is about.

Since entering Mars orbit, Hope would collect data for two years, with the probability that the project would last until 2025.

First For the United Arab Emirates

On Tuesday, the UAE project became the first to enter the red planet, Earth's neighbor, from an Arab nation. Space experts, CNBC said, placed the probability of joining Mars orbit at around 50 percent.

It took about seven months for The Hope Probe to reach Mars. According to the agency, the UAE agency intended to orbit the martian surface for a full Martian year, around two Earth years, to observe the planet's atmosphere.

Near Touch

The UAE Hope Probe was among three spacecraft expected this month to hit the red planet. On the day the Hope probe took its picture, where it decided to take a film, China's Tianwen-1 satellite landed in orbit on Mars, and the United States would also enter the fray when this week its Perseverance rover hits the Martian floor.

In other terms, three space companies are literally pulling up with the most specialized technology ever sent to Mars, so get ready for more of the Red Planet's most 'Gram-worthy videos we've ever seen.

Are They Waiting for the NASA Perseverance Rover?

Next Thursday, the NASA Perseverance rover is expected to land on the Red Planet.

An engineer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory described the time of entry, descent, and landing on the planet as seven minutes of terror in a video posted on Friday.

Perseverance would take about seven minutes to hit the ground after breaching the Martian atmosphere, said Swati Mohan, lead of Mars 2020 Guide, Navigation & Control Operations.

"If there's one thing we know, it's that landing on Mars is never easy," Marc Etkind, NASA Associate Communications Administrator, said in a statement posted on NASA's website.

It would have a solar-powered aircraft named Ingenuity in its stomach as Perseverance arrives on Thursday. According to its website, NASA plans to fly one or maybe more trips within 30 days.

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