You could be one of the world’s first to see this epic new map of the Red Planet
Listen here, space enthusiasts!
Scientists from NYU Abu Dhabi have just created an epic new map of Mars, and you could be one of the world’s first to see it.
The team from the university’s Centre for Space Science created a never-seen-before map of Mars using images sent by the UAE’s Emirates Mars Mission (EMM), more popularly known as Hope Probe or Al-Amal that is currently orbiting Mars.
The images used in the map were exclusively generated using a technology called Emirates Exploration Imager (EXI), a state-of-the-art imaging system onboard the Hope Probe. The new map of the Red Planet combines more than 3,000 observations produced by EXI.
“We plan to make our map available to the entire planet, as part of the new and more advanced Atlas of Mars, which we have been working on, and will be available in both English and Arabic once published,” said Dimitra Atri, group leader and research scientist from the Centre for Space Science.
The Abu Dhabi scientists’ work has been hailed as a testament to the UAE’s great progress in advancing scientific studies, and a strong motivation for the UAE youth to pursue careers in the field of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
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“The hope is that this accessibility will make it a great tool for researchers, and also students to learn more about Mars, and showcase the possibilities that the space sector in the UAE can offer,” said Atri.
The scientists created the colour composite map by stitching together the thousands of observations from the EXI instrument over the course of one Mars year, equivalent to two Earth years.
The Mars Map is created in “exceptional resolution”, where you can actually see the planet’s major regions and features such polar ice caps, mountains, volcanoes, remnants of ancient rivers, lakes, valleys, and impact craters.
“Such highly detailed maps are an essential foundation upon which future scientific research on Mars can be built,” NYU Abu Dhabi said in announcing the new map.
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The Hope Probe has already made history as the Arab world’s first interplanetary mission. It was launched from Japan on 20 July 2020 and reached Mars’ orbit seven months later.
“The complete Mars Map also brings the UAE and the Arab world another step closer to achieving EMM’s ambitious mission goal, to provide a complete global picture of the Martian climate,” Atri said.
The more than 30 previous spacecraft sent to the Red Planet have only managed to capture a snapshot of the Mars weather, while the Hope probe is able to follow the seasonal changes throughout a Martian year, the scientist points out.
“The map will further allow scientists to learn about momentous shifts in climate that can fundamentally alter planets, which will provide insights that may be able to help us on Earth too,” Atri said.
Using data from Hope Probe, the NYU Abu Dhabi scientists have earlier created the world’s first Mars Atlas in Arabic, making the probe’s findings more accessible to the Arab world.
The team at EMM and NYU Abu Dhabi are certainly changing the game when it comes to space exploration, and we can’t wait to see what other secrets the universe holds!
You can view view the high-resolution Mars Map here: https://marsatlas.org/mars/maps
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