UAE spacecraft takes photos of the solar system's largest volcano

The UAE's Hope probe sent back its first image of Mars days after successfully entering orbit around the planet.

Photo of Mars sent back by the Hope spacecraft. (Photo: Twitter).

The largest volcano in the Solar System, Olympus Mons , rises in the morning sun from a distance of 24,700 km above the surface of Mars on February 10, a day after the Hope probe entered orbit around the planet. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), shared the color image on Twitter with the caption "The first photo of Mars taken by the first Arab probe in history".

The Hope probe carries three scientific instruments that will create the first complete picture of the Martian atmosphere. The instruments will collect atmospheric data, measuring daily and seasonal changes, helping researchers better understand climate and weather dynamics in different layers of the Martian atmosphere. The team also hopes to learn more about how energy and particles like oxygen and hydrogen move through the planet's atmosphere.

Hope is one of three Mars exploration missions launched last July, along with NASA's Perseverance rover, which is scheduled to arrive on February 18, and China's Tianwen-1, which entered orbit on February 10. Hope will orbit Mars, Tianwen-1 will orbit and release its rover, and Perseverance will land on the red planet. All three missions launched around the same time to take advantage of Mars and Earth being on the same side of the sun, shortening the journey and saving fuel.