A group of NYU Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) research scientists have created an unprecedented map of Mars using images exclusively created from the Emirates Exploration Imager (EXI) onboard the Emirates Mars Mission (EMM) probe, also known as Hope or Al-Amal.

The Mars Map combines over 3,000 observations produced by the EXI instrument, and Atri and his team created the color composite map by stitching together the thousands of observations from the EXI instrument over the course of one Mars year (two Earth years). The map showcases new images of the Red Planet from the perspective of the Hope probe and highlights all its major features, including polar ice caps, mountains, volcanoes, remnants of ancient rivers, lakes, valleys, and impact craters, in exceptional resolution.

Such detailed maps are an essential foundation upon which future scientific research on Mars can be built, and the map will allow scientists to learn about momentous shifts in climate that can fundamentally alter planets, providing insights that may be able to help us on Earth as well.

More than 30 previous spacecraft have only managed to capture a snapshot of the Mars weather, while EMM will follow the seasonal changes throughout a Martian year.

The EMM is the UAE and the Arab world’s first interplanetary mission commissioned by the country’s leaders in 2014. The spacecraft was launched from Japan on July 20, 2020, and seven months later, on February 9, 2021, the Hope probe entered Mars’ orbit.

The Mars Map is a significant milestone in the EMM’s ambitious mission to provide a complete global picture of the Martian climate and will enable future scientific research on the Red Planet. The Hope probe is helping researchers create this global image of the planet due to its strategic position, allowing it to observe from much further away than any other spacecraft.