UAE’s ‘Hope’ probe sends home first image of Mars

UAE’s ‘Hope’ probe sends home first image of Mars

DUBAI: The UAE's "Hope" probe sent back its first image of Mars, the national space agency said 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. This section contains relevant reference points, placed in (Opinion field) The image was taken from an altitude of 24, 700 kilometers (15, 300 miles) above the Martian surface on Wednesday, a day after the probe entered Mars' orbit, it said in a statement. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, UAE prime minister and Dubai's ruler, shared the colored image on Twitter. "The first picture of Mars captured by the first-ever Arab probe in history," he wrote. The first picture of Mars captured by the first-ever Arab probe in history, 25, 000 km above the Red Planet's surface pic. twitter. com/Qgh2Cn3JPF 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 spacecraft to arrive at the Red Planet this month after China and the US also launched missions in July,