Arab station Al Amal sent new data on Mars to Earth

In February 2021, the United Arab Emiratessuccessfully launched their own interplanetary station Al Amal into Mars orbit. It was a big celebration - in honor of this historic event, the tallest tower in the world Burj Khalifa lit up with red and blue colors and people watched a beautiful light show. The main purpose of the apparatus is to study the properties of the Martian atmosphere and it is already carrying out its mission. He recently plotted a temperature map of the planet, found the largest volcano in the solar system, and studied the distribution of gases in the upper layers of the Martian atmosphere. All this data was successfully sent to Earth and now we know a little more about the Red Planet than before. Based on the data obtained, scientists have created one interesting map, which is very interesting to look at. But let's examine all the data in order.

The Arab station Al Amal has sent several photographs of Mars to Earth. What has become known to scientists?

The largest volcano in the solar system

The first thing to look out for isA snapshot of Mars taken with an EXI (Emirates eXplorer Imager) camera. The photo was taken from a distance of 13 thousand kilometers from the surface of the planet. It shows the extinct volcano Olympus, which is the highest peak in the entire solar system. The height of this volcano is estimated at 26 kilometers, and its diameter is 540 kilometers. The slopes of the volcano are very steep and scientists cannot yet explain exactly what this is connected with. Some researchers believe that the walls may have been washed by a huge ocean that could have existed on Mars millions of years ago or more.

See the dark spot on the right? This is the Martian volcano Olympus

Interesting fact: the tallest volcano on Earth is Mauna Kea, located in Hawaii. Its height is 10 kilometers, that is, the Martian Olympus is about 2.5 times higher than it.

Features of the atmosphere of Mars

Also, Arab scientists received a photograph of Mars,made by the EMUS instrument (Emirates Ultraviolet Spectrometer). The picture was taken from a height of 36 thousand kilometers from the surface of the planet. The image shows the distribution of hydrogen, oxygen and carbon monoxide in the upper atmosphere. On top of all this, Arab scientists now have a map of the temperature distribution on Mars. In total, the Al Amal station transmitted 30 gigabytes of data to Earth, among which there are 825 images. All this amount of data was obtained in a month of work and in the future there will be more information and discoveries.

Distribution of hydrogen, oxygen and carbon monoxide in the atmosphere of Mars

Mars temperature map. The redder the color, the warmer. But Mars cannot be called a warm planet, because the average air temperature on it is about -40 degrees Celsius.

Arab space mission Al Amal

We already know what station Al will doAmal coming soon. It is reported that on March 22 and April 6, the Al Amal station will make maneuvers to correct the trajectory of its movement. Thanks to them, in May 2021, the device will be able to go into scientific orbit. The station is expected to complete all of its tasks in about a couple of years. However, if everything is in order with her, the mission may well be extended until 2025. Humanity has been studying the planet Mars relatively recently and we know very little about it. There will definitely be work for the Arab station.

Al Amal station during assembly

On the Internet about the Arab station Al Amal is writtennot so much, but in vain. This is a very important apparatus for the scientific community, capable of making discoveries that we will really need in the future. After all, a manned mission to Mars is just around the corner and it is important for scientists to know what exactly astronauts may face. You need to know about the level of radiation in each area of ​​the planet, temperature, possible natural phenomena and other likely surprises. Elon Musk wants to send people to Mars in 2024, but other organizations are in no hurry and do it at best in about 10 years. In the meantime, it remains to monitor the results of studies of the Al Amal station and similar devices. We have an article that tells all the most interesting about the Arab station. I recommend everyone to read it.

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There is also unfairly little media coverage ofChinese mission "Tianwen-1". Incidentally, it consists of two vehicles: an orbital station and a rover. The Mars rover "Tianwen-1" landed on the surface of the planet in May 2021 and we will definitely follow this event. The descent of the 240-kilogram apparatus will be carried out on the Utopia plain, which I have described in all details in this material. Enjoy reading! Well, of course, be sure to subscribe to our Telegram channel - so you definitely won't miss anything interesting.