Video: Two moons from Mars near Dubai's Al Qudra

'Two moons' that suddenly appeared in Dubai's Al Qudra took the UAE's social media circles by storm.

The mystery has now been solved.

Raising scientific questions about Mars’ weather, two Martian moons appeared in Al Qudra desert in a first of its kind experiment to celebrate #HopeProbe’s arrival at Mars#ArabsToMars#ImpossibleIsPossible#HopeForHope  pic.twitter.com/XxPxlPOFFb

— - (@TheEmirates) February 9, 2021

The two Martian moons were a part of a campaign organised by the UAE Government Media Office to celebrate the Hope Probe.

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Phobos and Deimos, the two moons orbiting Mars, were projected in the sky using a new technology that has never been seen before in the UAE.

Two giant 100-metre cranes and an advanced 40-metre screen were used to make the moons appear realistically in the sky and visible from long distances.

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The idea was to illustrate to the UAE residents what the Hope Probe is capturing 500 million miles away.

It aimed to drive awareness and create excitement around the Hope Probe's insertion in the Martian orbit tomorrow, February 9.

"The Mars Mission is one of the biggest challenges of the country's history and one of the boldest initiatives of the UAE: Conquer space. So, to create awareness around this important fact, nothing better than bring the two moons of Mars to Earth," said Khaled AlShehhi, Executive Director of Production and Digital Communication Sector at the UAE Government Media Office.

Deimos and Phobos were discovered by the American astronomer Asaph Hall in 1877.

sahim@khaleejtimes.com