A UAE spacecraft that reached Mars's orbit last year has sent back thousands of images that show the stunning geographical features of the mysterious red planet.
From views of the elusive auroras that have puzzled scientists to enormous volcanoes visible from space, the Hope orbiter has recorded plenty of images since it arrived on February 9, 2021.
More than 100 gigabytes of scientific data captured by the spacecraft’s three instruments has already been released to the public, including readings on the planet’s atmospheric conditions.
It is the first successful interplanetary mission by an Arab country, paving the way for the Emirates to take on even more ambitious projects.
The National highlights some of the most remarkable images captured by the spacecraft.
First image by Hope
Less than a week after Hope reached Mars, it beamed back its first image of the planet.
It showed the Tharsis Montes region, an area that has three large shield volcanoes, in sharp detail.
The Olympus Mons, the largest volcano in the solar system, at sunrise was also visible.
Captured 24,700 kilometres above the surface of Mars, the North Pole of the planet can be seen in the upper left of the image.
Ice clouds are visible over the southern highlands and the Alba Mona Volcano.
Tectonic fissures
On March 15, the spacecraft captured an image of Cerberus Fossae, a series of fissures that formed when the crust was pulled apart in the region.
The fracture system stretches more than 1,000 kilometres across the Martian surface.
It is a tectonically and volcanically active region that experiences Marsquakes.
It is believed the fractures could be related to the nearby volcanic systems, such as Elysium and Tharsis.
Some experts have said these fractures may have been the source for catastrophic releases of groundwater, triggered by volcanic activity.
Hope captured the image when it was closest to Mars’s planetary surface.
Largest mountain in solar system
The spacecraft offered a detailed look at Olympus Mons a few weeks after reaching Mars.
Taken from 13,007km above the planet, the image shows the largest volcano in the solar system in stunning detail.
It was first shared by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, on his social media accounts.
“Olympus Mons … highest peak in our solar system. Almost three times the height of Mount Everest. Taken by Hope Probe at 13,000km above Mars surface,” he wrote.
The volcano is located in the Tharsis region of Mars and measures 642 kilometres in diameter.
Aurora on Mars
In April, Hope captured the discrete aurora on Mars – similar to the Northern Lights on Earth.
It was the first time such clear observations had been made. Scientific images were released at the time, along with an artist’s impression of what the aurora could look like on Mars.
The rare phenomenon occurs around Mars’s irregular crustal magnetic field and is created when energetic electrons in the upper atmosphere collide with gas molecules in the atmosphere.
This causes ionisation, dissociation of molecules and emission of photons – causing the 'dancing lights’.
There are two other types of aurora that have been documented before, the diffuse and the proton.
Bright hemisphere
Hope took photos of a fully illuminated hemisphere of Mars.
These were similar to observations carried out regularly by weather satellites around Earth.
Captured 20,260km above the planetary surface, the image was taken when it was late spring in its northern hemisphere.
Mars’ northern and southern hemisphere are different from each other. The northern part has non-volcanic and flat lowlands, while the south hosts volcanoes that are scattered throughout on high land.
Inside the Dubai ground control that tracks UAE's Mars spacecraft - in pictures
Set-jetting on the Emerald Isle
Other shows filmed in Ireland include: Vikings (County Wicklow), The Fall (Belfast), Line of Duty (Belfast), Penny Dreadful (Dublin), Ripper Street (Dublin), Krypton (Belfast)
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Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
Sinopharm vaccine explained
The Sinopharm vaccine was created using techniques that have been around for decades.
“This is an inactivated vaccine. Simply what it means is that the virus is taken, cultured and inactivated," said Dr Nawal Al Kaabi, chair of the UAE's National Covid-19 Clinical Management Committee.
"What is left is a skeleton of the virus so it looks like a virus, but it is not live."
This is then injected into the body.
"The body will recognise it and form antibodies but because it is inactive, we will need more than one dose. The body will not develop immunity with one dose," she said.
"You have to be exposed more than one time to what we call the antigen."
The vaccine should offer protection for at least months, but no one knows how long beyond that.
Dr Al Kaabi said early vaccine volunteers in China were given shots last spring and still have antibodies today.
“Since it is inactivated, it will not last forever," she said.
Key figures in the life of the fort
Sheikh Dhiyab bin Isa (ruled 1761-1793) Built Qasr Al Hosn as a watchtower to guard over the only freshwater well on Abu Dhabi island.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Dhiyab (ruled 1793-1816) Expanded the tower into a small fort and transferred his ruling place of residence from Liwa Oasis to the fort on the island.
Sheikh Tahnoon bin Shakhbut (ruled 1818-1833) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further as Abu Dhabi grew from a small village of palm huts to a town of more than 5,000 inhabitants.
Sheikh Khalifa bin Shakhbut (ruled 1833-1845) Repaired and fortified the fort.
Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon (ruled 1845-1855) Turned Qasr Al Hosn into a strong two-storied structure.
Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa (ruled 1855-1909) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further to reflect the emirate's increasing prominence.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan (ruled 1928-1966) Renovated and enlarged Qasr Al Hosn, adding a decorative arch and two new villas.
Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan (ruled 1966-2004) Moved the royal residence to Al Manhal palace and kept his diwan at Qasr Al Hosn.
Sources: Jayanti Maitra, www.adach.ae