The photo was taken about 25,000 kilometers above the planet, using the Emirates eXploration Imager (EXI) – a 12 MP tool that measures Mars via visible and ultraviolet light. It is also used to measure water ice and ozone in the atmosphere.
The UAE’s successful mission makes it only the fifth country to reach March.
“The transmission of the first Mars image from the Hope Probe is a defining moment in our history and marks the UAE’s accession to advanced nations involved in space exploration,” Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan tweeted, at side of the photo.
“We hope that this mission will lead to new discoveries on Mars that will benefit humanity.”
The photo shows sunlight passing through the planet’s surface, as well as the Martian North Pole. It also shows Olympus Mons, the largest volcano on the planet.
The probe also had to perform a particularly difficult 27-minute maneuver entirely autonomously, due to the great distance between Earth and Mars.
During the mission, it would have taken 11 minutes for radio transmissions to travel from mission control to the probe – far too long to perform the nuanced procedures necessary for the successful descent of the probe.
The movement, if it failed, risked launching the probe into the vastness of space.
It is possible that the research collected by the probe could be the basis of human settlements on Mars.
Daily information could be used to better help design shelters and other technologies that could be used outside the world.
