Dubai (Etihad)
The Emirates Mars Exploration Project, the “Hope Probe”, has published unique images of Mars that capture unprecedented observations about the behavior of the red planet’s atmospheric gases and the interactions that occur between them. Observations with the Hope Probe’s UV spectrometer show large differences in the abundance of atomic oxygen and carbon monoxide in Mars’ upper atmosphere on the diurnal side of the planet.
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, may God protect him, said on Twitter: “A picture taken by the Hope probe for the spring season in the northern part of the planet Mars. The UAE today began sharing the scientific data it obtained.” With the rest of the global research centers, where larger than expected amounts of oxygen were discovered on the planet.”
Engineer Hessa Al Matrooshi, Deputy Director of the Emirates Mars Exploration Project, “Probe of Hope” for Scientific Affairs, said: “These observations reveal structures that were not expected in terms of size and complexity. We believe it will have an impact on currently known scientific models of the Martian atmosphere, as well as on our understanding of its changes.”
“We released the project’s first scientific data set to the global scientific community,” she added. And she continued: “These new observations, and those we previously announced for the separate auroras of Mars, are among the first batch of scientific data, in addition to a set of data collected by the three scientific instruments of the Hope Probe between February 9 and May 22, 2021. From now on, we will issue data A new one every three months and continuously so that the scientific community around the world can benefit from it.”
Eng. Imran Sharaf, Director of the Emirates Mars Exploration Project “Hope Probe” said: The sharing of the first batch of valuable scientific data collected by the probe on the Red Planet is an important milestone in the procession of the Emirates Mars Exploration Project, as it culminates in years of tireless and dedicated work of the team of national cadres. In partnership and cooperation with international partners for this ambitious project, which is a qualitative contribution from the UAE to the scientific progress of humanity, as it provides unprecedented information about the Red Planet.
These new discoveries contribute to changing the previous perceptions of scientists about the distribution of ultraviolet light emitted from the upper atmosphere of Mars, as they show the presence of vast structures for the abundance of atomic oxygen that differ in their levels from expected, and also indicate unusual atmospheric disturbances in the atmosphere. The pictures were taken at a time when Mars was close to the top of its orbit (the most distant from the sun) while solar activity was low, as the pictures showed the exceptional scene of oxygen emissions at the wavelength of 130.4 nanometers.
At first, it was thought that these structures in the images taken by the UV spectrophotometer might be the result of a negative light effect from long-ray wavelengths that the device was designed to reject, but a relatively uniform emission of oxygen at the wavelength of 130.4 nanometers was observed across the planet. It is the opposite of what was observed where the abundance of oxygen was 50% higher than expected. Therefore, the scientific team is currently working on modifying its scientific models of the atmosphere to reach a better and consistent interpretation of these results.
The main scientific objective of the UV spectrometer device carried by the Hope Probe is to measure the oxygen and carbon monoxide in Mars’ upper atmosphere and the diversity of hydrogen and oxygen in the outer atmosphere. The instrument is the most accurate ultraviolet instrument ever sent on a Mars science mission.
The scientific mission of the Emirates Mars Exploration Project, the Hope Probe, focuses on studying the relationship between the upper and lower layers of the Martian atmosphere, allowing the scientific community to form a comprehensive picture of the Martian climate and atmosphere at different times of the day and throughout the seasons of the Martian year.
The Hope probe orbits in its planned elliptical scientific orbit around Mars, which is between 20,000 and 43,000 km, with a 25 degree inclination toward Mars, giving it the unique ability to complete one orbit around the planet every 55 hours, capturing comprehensive observations of the planet every nine days , during its Martian year-round mission (two Earth years) to map the dynamics of the Martian atmosphere.
knowledge
The Emirates Mars Exploration Project “Probe of Hope” is the culmination of knowledge transfer and development efforts, which began in 2006, which saw Emirati engineers work with scientific partners from around the world to develop satellite design, engineering and manufacturing capabilities.
The Hope Probe carries three innovative scientific instruments to monitor the Martian atmosphere. It weighs about 1,350 kilograms, the equivalent of a small SUV, and was designed and developed by the engineers of the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center in cooperation with academic partners, including the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado (in Boulder), State University Arizona and the University of California (Berkeley).
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