The Emirates Mars Mission has transmitted the first image of the Red Planet as captured by the UAE’s Hope probe. This picture was photographed from 15,300 miles above the Martian surface on Wednesday, approximately one day after the probe entered Mars’ orbit, giving us a glimpse of the largest volcano in the solar system, Olympus Mons, emerging into the early morning sunlight. This also marks the first picture of Mars captured by the first-ever Arab probe in history. Read more for a video about the mission and additional information.
Olympus Mons doesn’t appear to be all that large in the image above, but it’s actually two and a half times Mount Everest’s height above sea level. It’s one of the largest known volcanoes, the tallest planetary mountain, and the second tallest mountain currently discovered in the Solar System. The volcano is believed to have formed during Mars’s Hesperian Period and been known to astronomers since the late 19th century as the albedo feature Nix Olympica (Latin for “Olympic Snow”).
- SUPERIOR OPTICS: The 70mm Travel Scope comes complete with fully-coated glass optics, a potent 70mm objective lens, a full-height tripod, bonus...
- POWERFUL EYEPIECES FOR UP-CLOSE VIEWING: Our telescope for astronomy beginners is equipped with two high-quality eyepieces (20mm and 10mm) that...
- LARGE 70MM OBJECTIVE LENS: This refractor telescope features a large, 70mm aperture objective lens that provides brighter, more detailed views...
