Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid has spoken of his pride at the UAE's "contribution to the pursuit of human knowledge" as the country's space experts seek to further unravel the mysteries of Mars.
The Vice President and Ruler of Dubai hailed the Emirates' latest scientific achievements after its Hope probe revealed striking details of Deimos, a tiny moon of Mars, which indicate that the celestial body may not actually be a captured asteroid as previously thought.
The fascinating findings, which include new images and scientific readings, were shared with the world by the Emirates Mars Mission team on Monday.
The spacecraft, which has spent more than two years orbiting Mars in a first for the Arab world, flew as close as 100km to the moon's surface to capture crucial data on its composition that challenges long-standing theories that Mars’ moons are captured asteroids — space rocks trapped in a planet’s orbit.
Findings suggest a planetary origin, meaning that the rock may have come from Mars itself.
"In a first of its kind, Hope probe is 100km away from Deimos moon in Mars," Sheikh Mohammed tweeted.
"We are proud of our young scientists, our knowledge and our contribution to the pursuit of human knowledge."
Sheikh Mohammed had himself announced the UAE's stellar ambitions on social media in 2014.
“Today we announce two epic projects in our history: establishing UAE Space Agency and sending the first Arab spaceship to Mars by 2021,” he tweeted at the time.
The UAE achieved its lofty goal on February 9, 2021 when it became the first Arab nation to enter the Red Planet's orbit and only the fifth space agency to accomplish the task.
Since then, the Hope probe has been beaming back stunning images of the planet that has revealed its geographical features and atmospheric conditions.
Scientists around the world have been benefiting from the treasure trove of data the mission has released so far, including images of the planet’s mysterious aurora and abundance of oxygen.
