Hope probe sends first pics from Mars

The UAE’S “Hope” probe sent back its first image of Mars, the national space agency said on Sunday, days after the spacecraft 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. The image was taken from an altitude of 24,700 km above the Martian surface on Wednesday, a day after the probe entered Mars’ orbit. “The first picture of Mars captured by the first-ever Arab probe in history,” said Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Almaktoum, UAE Prime Minister and Dubai’s ruler, while sharing the coloured image on Twitter. “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 transmitting more information back to Earth in September 2021.