The Emirates Mars Mission has released new data on Deimos, the smaller moon of Mars, collected by the Hope Probe.
As most of the research on Mars' moons is collected on Phobos, the larger moon, the observations from the Hope Probe help in providing more insight into Deimos.
Through the data collected, Mars' moons suggest they are captured asteroids, rather than the theory of them having planetary origins. Captured asteroids occur when while falling towards a planet, the asteroid does not have enough velocity to leave the planet's orbit.
The images captured were taken during flybys of the moon showcase the first well-resolved hyperspectral data of Deimos in the thermal infrared, which is a 3D view of the moon taken in a low visibility environment.
In a tweet by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai said, "In a new global precedent … the Emirates Mars Exploration Project, the “Probe of Hope”, approaches 100 km from the Martian moon 'Deimos' .. and captures the clearest image obtained by humans of this moon … Theories tell us that this moon is an external asteroid that was captured within the orbit of Mars.. The Hope Probe refutes this theory to prove through its devices and its team that this moon was mostly part of the planet Mars and it separated from it millions of years ago.. just like the Earth's moon.. which He was a part of it and separated from it. Proud of our young scientists. Proud of our science. Proud of our contribution to the march of human knowledge."