Take the clearest picture of him. and extending the Mars exploration mission to next year

Mohammed bin Rashid: "Hope Probe" is close to 100 km from "Deimos"

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His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, announced that the "Hope Probe" approached 100 km from the moon, belonging to Mars, "Deimos", and took the clearest image obtained by humans of this moon.

His Highness said via Twitter: "In a new global precedent. The Emirates Mars Mission (Hope Probe) is 100 km from the Martian Moon (Deimos). It captures the clearest picture humans have ever had of this moon."

"Theories tell us that this moon is an exotic asteroid captured in Martian orbit. The Hope Probe refutes this theory, proving through its instruments and its team that this moon was most likely part of the planet Mars, and separated from it millions of years ago. Just like the moon of the Earth. who was part of it and broke away from it."

His Highness expressed his pride in the results of the Emirates Mars Mission (Hope Probe), saying: "We are proud of our young scientists. We are proud of our science. We are proud of our contribution to the march of human knowledge."

The science team of the Emirates Mars Mission (Hope Probe) revealed a series of new data for the smaller Mars moon (Deimos), captured using the probe's three scientific instruments, during its passage to the nearest point of the moon at a distance of only about 100 kilometers, which is the closest to a spacecraft since the Viking mission in 1977.

During a special session at the International Conference on Earth Sciences in Vienna, the scientific team presented all the new images, observations and results that have been discovered about the structure and structure of the moon "Deimos".

The team stressed that the data discovered for the first time contribute to deepening the global scientific community's understanding of Deimos, and enriching it with new information and data about it.

The observations have ruled out one of the oldest theories suggesting that the moon is originally an asteroid drawn into the orbit of the Red Planet, and confirms that it is more likely that the moon originated from Mars, and not an asteroid as previously assumed.

High-resolution images taken during the nearest frequent flyby of the moon include the first-ever observations of extreme and distant ultraviolet light, and the first hyperspectral data on thermal infrared deimos.

The observations also revealed, for the first time, areas on the far side of Deimos that had not been syntactically observed.

Hessa Al Matrooshi, the leader of the scientific team of the Emirates Mars Mission (Hope Probe), said that there are many questions about the Martian moons "Deimos" and "Phobos", so we seek through the "Hope Probe" to answer these questions, in order to reach a deeper understanding of the planet Mars and its moons, adding that how the two moons appear in their current orbit is under study, which confirms the importance of new information, especially about Deimos, as it will contribute to enhancing our understanding of the origin and composition of Martian moons.

Sarah bint Yousef Al Amiri, Minister of State for Public Education and Advanced Technology and Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the UAE Space Agency, confirmed that the "Hope Probe" has contributed, over the past years, to the disclosure of a series of unique and important data, which has not been observed before, which changes our concept of the red planet.

"The latest important discoveries negate an old theory and prove that the smaller Martian moon Deimos is of planetary origin, not an asteroid."

She continued: «The scientific team will continue, during the coming period, to study the moon of Deimos deeper and larger, with the aim of revealing more observations and data about the moon, and presenting them to the global scientific community», stressing that «in light of the great success of the (Hope Probe), and to complement the scientific achievements, the probe's journey will be extended for an additional year, thanks to the important observations provided by the project about the Red Planet».

The Director General of the UAE Space Agency, Salem Butti Salem Al Qubaisi, said: "The extension of the mission of the Emirates Mars Mission will contribute to increasing opportunities for cooperation and expanding strategic partnerships with various entities and research centers in the United Arab Emirates, in line with our strategic vision for the sustainable development of the space sector, and ensures the enhancement of national capabilities in this field, in accordance with the highest international standards, in addition to consolidating the country's position in this pioneering and vital sector."

It is noteworthy that the satellite «Deimos» is the least observed and understood, due to its small size and rotation in a wider orbit every 30 hours, unlike the moon «Phobos», which is characterized by its largest size and proximity of its orbit to the planet Mars, which is considered the most suitable for sensing by previous spacecraft, most of which are located at lower altitudes than the planet.

The first stages of the "Hope Probe" next to the Deimos satellite began at the end of January and the beginning of February 2023, where the calibration of the instruments was carried out to support the acquisition of high-definition and accurate images and observations, through the Digital Exploration Camera (EXI), the Infrared Spectrometer (EMIRS), and the Ultraviolet Spectrometer (EMUS).

The Hope Probe, as planned, orbits in an elliptical orbit between 20,43 km and 25,<> km, with a <>-degree tilt toward Mars and minor changes that support additional observations of Deimos.

The probe completes one orbit of the planet every 55 hours, recording a complete set of data for Mars every nine days, as part of its mission to map the Red Planet's atmosphere.

It is worth noting that the Emirates Mars Mission (Hope Probe) has published 13 scientific and research papers on the probe's data in specialized international scientific journals since its arrival in orbit, which confirms the importance of this information for researchers and scientists around the world.

Emirati students and researchers have also benefited greatly from this data in furthering their relevant specialized research.

The total volume of data collected by the probe thanks to its three instruments was more than 2 terabytes.

Vice President:

• "We are proud of our young scientists. We are proud of our science. and by our contribution to the march of human knowledge."

"The Hope Probe suggests that Deimos was a part of Mars that separated from it millions of years ago."