Tweeps have ‘fallen in love’ with the Hope Probe — an unforeseen but a welcome consequence since the Emirates Mars Mission (EMM) released its first science data set on October 1.

Space enthusiasts around the world have been downloading image data from the Hope Probe’s EXI (Emirates Exploration Imager) system, processing their own images of Mars, said the EMM on Sunday.

“We have been very pleased seeing the Mars images captured by Hope Probe being shared over Twitter by the local and international community. The diverse range of treatments of the EXI images has opened up new views and perspectives,” said EMM science lead Hessa Al Matroushi.

The first full science data set, released on October 1, included data and observations made by the UAE’s Hope Probe as it orbited the Red Planet between February 9 to May 22 this year.

The mission’s EXI camera is capable of taking high-resolution images and is being used to measure properties of water, ice and ozone in the Martian atmosphere.

Some 500 EXI images are included in the first data release, with thousands more expected with the next one in January 2022.

In the first 10 days of its release, some two terabytes of information have so far been downloaded from the Science Data Centre at the EMM website, of which 1.5 terabytes is EXI data.

“EXI has already surpassed our expectations and its first observations have been taking place throughout the Martian cloudy season. We know that, during this time, spring and summer in the Martian northern hemisphere, a belt of clouds forms near the equator. We’re now able to see daily changes and are building a library that will allow us to measure seasonal changes in the dynamics of those cloud formations,” explained Matroushi.

Dhanusha Gokulan

Originally from India, Dhanusha Gokulan has been working as a journalist for over ten years. For Khaleej Times, she covers NRI affairs, civil aviation, and immigration issues among other things. She completed her BA in Journalism, Economics and English Literature from Mangalore University in 2008 and is currently pursuing her MA in Leadership and Innovation in Contemporary Media at the American University in Dubai. In her spare time, she dabbles with some singing/songwriting, loves food, and is mom to an over-enthusiastic Labrador retriever. Tweet at her @shootsprintrite.