Hope Probe sends home first image of Red Planet
The orbiter captures the largest volcano in the solar system; Hope’s success result of Emirati determination, says Mohammed; UAE approves facial ID technology in private and government sectors.
The UAE’S Hope Probe sent back its first image of Mars, the national space agency said on Sunday, days ater the spacecrat successfully entered the Red Planet’s orbit.
The picture “captured the largest volcano in the solar system, Olympus Mons, emerging into the early morning sunlight,” it said in a statement.
Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum emphasised that the success of the Hope Probe is a result of determination and persistence shown by Emarati youth.
He made the statement during a Cabinet meeting on Sunday.
He confirmed that empowering young Emiratis is an established approach that the UAE has believed in since the establishment of the Union. “Our country celebrates the Hope probe braking into orbit around Mars, a historic milestone that marks the beginning of the coming 50 years.”
Sheikh Mohammed said on Twiter, “The first picture of Mars captured by the first-ever Arab probe in history, 25,000 km above the Red Planet’s surface.”
The image was taken from an altitude of 24,700 kilometres ( 15,300 miles) above the Martian surface on Wednesday, a day ater the probe entered Mars’ orbit, it said in a statement.
The mission is designed to reveal the secrets of Martian weather, but the UAE also wants it to serve as an inspiration for the region’s youth.
Hope became the first of three spacecrat to arrive at the Red Planet this month ater China and the US also launched missions in July, taking advantage of a period when the Earth and Mars are nearest.
The UAE’S venture is also timed to mark the 50th anniversary of the unification of the nation’s seven emirates.
“Hope” will orbit the Red Planet for at least one Martian year, or 687 days, using three scientific instruments to monitor the Martian atmosphere.
It is expected to begin transmiting more information back to Earth in September 2021, with the data available for scientists around the world to study.
The picture was taken by the EXI digital exploration camera, one of EMM’S three scientific instruments. It is a multi-wavelength radiation tolerant camera that can take 12-megapixel images and took the image from an altitude of around 25,000 km above the Martian surface.
The flexible readout modes allow customisation of resolution, regions of interest and frame rate to meet the needs of the user. The lens system is a double lens assembly with a separate UV and VIS optical paths. The type of lens used is a double Gauss variant, a compound type lens used to provide high resolution imaging of Mars. The low focal ratio makes it possible to use very short exposure times to capture stable images during periapsis, while fiting both lens systems into a compact package. The image sensor is a 12-megapixel 12-bit monochrome CMOS array 4:3 imager.
The colour is created from a composite of red, green, and blue EXI images. The North pole of Mars is in the upper let of the image. EMM captured the largest volcano in the solar system, Olympus Mons (centre), emerging into the early morning sunlight.
More prominent are the three large shield volcanoes of Tharsis Montes ( Ascraeus Mons, Pavonis Mons, and Arisia Mons).
Further to the East or right of the volcanoes lie Noctis Labyrinthus and the Valles Marineris system of canyons, filled with clouds. Ice clouds are present over the southern highlands (lower right) as well as surrounding the volcano Alba Mons (upper let).
On the other hand, during the meeting, the Cabinet approved the Ministry of Interior’s proposal on employing facial recognition technology to further develop the services provided by private and government sectors, with the aim of facilitating procedures. The employment of facial recognition technology will facilitate services to the public at any time and place without the need of traditional means of identification such as official documents.
The Ministry of Interior (MOI) will expand the use of facial recognition technology ater the completion of the initial period, during which the MOI will launch a set of services using facial recognition technology in some private sector institutions.