Mars’ smallest moon has been photographed in detail by a probe from the United Arab Emirates; see | Sciences

The UAE Space Agency released this Monday (24) new images taken by the ‘Hope’ probe, and sent to space for exploration. Mars. Pictures reveal details moon deimosIt is the smallest and farthest of the two natural satellites of the Red Planet.

The unmanned spacecraft was able to come within 100 kilometers of Deimos, a rocky body 12 kilometers across. The images taken by the Arab probe were the most accurate to date and provided new discoveries about the structure of the Martian moon.

The mission was able to take pictures of the far side of the moon, showing areas not yet seen and not studied by humans – until now.

New records may reignite the debate about The origins of the moons of Mars – In addition to Deimos, the Red Planet contains Phobos (or Phobos), which is seven times larger.

Theories indicate that the two moons originated from asteroids that were “sucked” into the orbit of Mars. But according to the new discoveries made by the Arab probe, the moons of Mars may have emanated from the red planet itself.

“We are not sure of the origins of Phobos and Deimos,” said Hessa Al Matrooshi, the mission leader. “Our observations of Deimos so far point to a planetary origin,” he said.

Scientist Christopher Edwards, who is in charge of one of the instruments on the Arab probe, said that the rock structure of the two moons is more similar to that of Mars than that of the asteroid. This could mean that the two bodies were once part of the planet but separate from it.

The UAE Space Agency also announced the extension of the mission to Mars for another year. The Hope Probe was launched into space in 2020 and reached the planet’s orbit in 2021. It was the first spacecraft from an Arab country to reach Mars.