A new map of Mars shows the Red Planet in stunning detail, revealing a host of fascinating geological features that can be seen from orbit.
The high-resolution map could help scientists answer a number of pressing questions about Mars Including how dry, barren, and barren it became when it was abundant in liquid water.
The Mars map was created by a team of scientists led by New York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Space Science Center (Opens in a new tab). The researchers used data collected in orbit around Mars by Emirates mission to Mars (EMM), also known as Hope or Hope.
Related: A new water map of Mars reveals the history of the Red Planet
The map shows the Red Planet through the eyes of the ship’s state-of-the-art imaging system, the Emirates Exploration Imager (EXI), and illustrates the UAE’s growing influence in science. NYU Abu Dhabi wrote in a statement (Opens in a new tab) He hopes the new Mars map will motivate young people in the UAE to pursue careers in STEM disciplines.
“We plan to make our map available globally, as part of the new, more advanced Mars Atlas we are working on, which will be available in both English and Arabic as soon as it is released,” said the NYUAD leader and researcher. Dimitra Atre said in the statement. “We hope that this accessibility will make it a great tool for researchers, but also for students, to learn more about Mars and showcase the opportunities that the space sector in the UAE can offer.”
To create the map, Atre and the team took more than 3,000 EXI observations taken over the course of one Martian year, a period equivalent to two years here on Earth. Land, and bring them together to create a color combination. The resulting map shows many of the Red Planet’s key geological features in high resolution.
The map reveals polar ice caps, mountains, and long-dormant volcanoes, as well as remnants of ancient rivers, lakes, and valleys that were overflowing with liquid water some 3.5 billion years ago. As such, the map can help planetary scientists better understand how the Martian climate has changed over billions of years, resulting in the dry, arid world we observe today.
“The complete Mars map brings the UAE and the Arab world one step closer to achieving EMM’s ambitious mission goal of providing a complete global picture of the climate of Mars,” added Atre. “Only more than 30 previous spacecraft have been able to capture a snapshot of Martian weather, while the EMM will track seasonal changes over the course of a Martian year.”
By allowing scientists to study the distribution of impact craters on the planet’s dry surface, the map also reveals a first date asteroid Mars bombing. As such, the composite of EXI images can also help researchers better understand turbulent onset conditions solar system When space rock collisions were more frequent than they are today.
The Hope Probe is the first interplanetary mission for the United Arab Emirates and the Arab world as a whole. Commissioned by the leaders of the United Arab Emirates in 2014, the spacecraft was launched from Japan on July 20, 2020. After a journey of about seven months, Hope reached Mars orbit on February 9, 2021.
“The Hope probe helps researchers build this global picture of the planet because of its strategic location,” Atri said. “Hope orbits Mars in an elliptical orbit that allows it to be observed from much further away than any other spacecraft. This strategic location helps researchers build a global picture of the planet.”
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