UAE: Hope probe shows Mars as you’ve never seen it before

The Hope probe, the main tool of the UAE‘s interplanetary mission around Mars -the first in the Arab world- has recently made an exceptional discovery. Equipped with an ultraviolet spectrometer, the probe managed to capture a phenomenon as spectacular as it was unexpected: a bluish aurora, almost mauve at times, which oscillates in the atmosphere of the red planet, on its hidden side.

The UAE's Hope Probe, first-ever Arab interplanetary mission, has captured the first global images of Mars’ Discrete Aurora. The high-quality images open up unprecedented potential for the global science community to investigate solar interactions with Mars. pic.twitter.com/5Bt4ZZX2L9

— HH Sheikh Mohammed (@HHShkMohd) June 30, 2021

In addition to the visual aspect -the discreet aurora of Mars is at least as magnificent as the aurora borealis and polar lights of the Earth- of this discovery, it is especially its scientific impact that is important here, especially in the appreciation that we have of the interactions between the sun’s rays and the different planets of the solar system.

These mysterious magnetic fields on the surface of Mars not only resemble those of the Earth, but other similarities are to be underlined, such as the fact that the planet would not have a global magnetic field generated by its core. Undoubtedly, the red planet has not finished delivering all its secrets…