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
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'Saand Ki Aankh'
Produced by: Reliance Entertainment with Chalk and Cheese Films
Director: Tushar Hiranandani
Cast: Taapsee Pannu, Bhumi Pednekar, Prakash Jha, Vineet Singh
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Classification of skills
A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.
A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
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So what is Spicy Chickenjoy?
Just as McDonald’s has the Big Mac, Jollibee has Spicy Chickenjoy – a piece of fried chicken that’s crispy and spicy on the outside and comes with a side of spaghetti, all covered in tomato sauce and topped with sausage slices and ground beef. It sounds like a recipe that a child would come up with, but perhaps that’s the point – a flavourbomb combination of cheap comfort foods. Chickenjoy is Jollibee’s best-selling product in every country in which it has a presence.
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The permutations for UAE going to the 2018 World Cup finals
To qualify automatically
UAE must beat Iraq.
Australia must lose in Japan and at home to Thailand, with their losing margins and the UAE's winning margin over Iraq being enough to overturn a goal difference gap of eight.
Saudi Arabia must lose to Japan, with their losing margin and the UAE's winning margin over Iraq being enough to overturn a goal difference gap of eight.
To finish third and go into a play-off with the other third-placed AFC side for a chance to reach the inter-confederation play-off match
UAE must beat Iraq.
Saudi Arabia must lose to Japan, with their losing margin and the UAE's winning margin over Iraq being enough to overturn a goal difference gap of eight.
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Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
Race card
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