The HOPE Ultraviolet Spectrometer First Images of Mars

The Emirates Mars Mission’s Hope probe carries three science instruments as it orbits Mars collecting a unique picture of the Red Planet’s atmosphere, including the Emirates Ultraviolet Spectrometer, EMUS.

EMUS captured these images of Mars from an altitude of 36,000 km above the Martian surface. Each color represents light collected at a different ultraviolet wavelength and provides information about the Red Planet’s upper atmosphere.

The detector system for EMUS was designed and fabricated at the UC Berkeley Space Sciences Lab as part of a knowledge partnership between the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Center in the UAE, UC Berkeley, and the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at CU Boulder.

Violet and blue show the reflection of sunlight from the extended cloud of hydrogen atoms surrounding Mars.

Green shows the the reflection of sunlight from oxygen atoms in the upper atmosphere.

Orange shows where energetic electrons cause other oxygen atoms to glow.

Red shows a combination of emissions coming from carbon monoxide molecules.

Learn more about the Emirates Mars Mission, and the EMUS instrument.