Hope Probe monitors thick veil of water-ice clouds on Mars

Yamama Badwan, Staff Reporter

The UAE’s “Hope Probe” announced details of the observations on July 4, 2022, about the northern hemisphere of the red planet, specifically at 259 degrees solar longitude, from an altitude of about 39,800 kilometers, by means of the Emirates Exploration Imager (EXI).

It said regional winds may be interacting with the elevated topography of the huge shield volcano Alba Patera to create bright and dark “stripes” in the North Polar Hood.

The Hope Mars Mission said on its Twitter, “These Emirates Exploration Imager (EXI) observations were taken on July 4, 2022 from a spacecraft altitude of about 39,800 km. It was late-autumn in the northern hemisphere (Ls=259°).

“At this season (and throughout northern winter), the north polar region is obscured by a thick veil of water-ice clouds known as the North Polar Hood (NPH).

“In this imaging sequence, dramatic bright and dark "stripes" are observed in the NPH. One possible explanation is that regional winds interact with the elevated topography of the huge shield volcano Alba Patera (just south of the NPH near the upper left terminator), giving rise to atmospheric waves.

“These waves become visible as alternating bright and dark patterns in the NPH clouds. Below the image center, the Valles Marineris canyon system is seen to be partially obscured by dust hazes.”