The UAE Space Agency confirmed the entry of the Hope Probe into the orbit of Mars. It becomes another country to cement its place in the annals of history. It was a success at first attempt for the interplanetary mission of the United Arab Emirates. The Hope Probe of the UAE launched from Tanegashima Space Center in Japan. It sent back a signal to ground control confirming that it is in orbit. The moment was a glorious one for the team of young men and women who had made it possible. Once the news broke that the mission had successfully entered orbit around Mars, the Burj Khalifa celebrated the occasion with a celebratory light show.
The UAE became the fifth country in history to reach the red planet and the first from the Arab world. There are three scientific instruments in the Hope. The purpose is to map the atmosphere of the red planet Mars. It would be a continuous process and will reveal details of the seasonal and daily changes. Such a range of data would be invaluable to all those who plan to go to Mars.
Scientists can use the Hope Probe information to get an idea of the climate dynamics and weather at different Martian atmosphere layers. The data can also provide an insight into the behavior of energy and other types of particles like oxygen and hydrogen. Full credit goes to the team of young engineers, men, and women, who made it possible.
Their average age is 27.
Big moment for the UAE
Her Excellency Sarah bint Yousef Al Amiri is the deputy project manager for the mission. She is also the chair of the UAE Space Agency and the United Arab Emirates Council of Scientists. She reveals that work on the project began towards the end of 2013. It was something very new to the team.
The members came from different continents. Their backgrounds and beliefs were different. There was relatively no infrastructure, but they worked as a team. They deserve full credit.
The Hope mission of the UAE was one of three that launched to Mars from Earth in July. The other two are NASA's Perseverance rover and China's Tianwen-1.
Each of them has a different mission. The Hope will orbit the planet, Tianwen-1 will orbit the planet and land on it, while Perseverance will land on Mars. Hope has already arrived. Next would be Tianwen-1 on February 10, followed by Perseverance on February 18. These are practical examples of using Artificial Intelligence, robotics, and Renewable Energy in space research. February 2021 would see a crowded sky over Mars with the UAE, China, and the United States missions.
Work scheduled for the Hope Probe of the UAE
The Hope Probe entered an elliptical orbit around Mars once the gravity of the red planet captured it. Since it will be in an elliptical orbit, the Probe would come as close as 621 miles above the Martian surface and as distant as 30,683 miles.
It will take about 40 hours to complete one orbit and transmit the first image of Mars. This is the capture orbit, and Hope will remain in this phase until mid-May. This is the transition stage of the mission. The design of the UAE mission is for two years and could extend by another year. Incidentally, the orbit of Hope would be different from past spacecraft that have visited the red planet.
The UAE scripts history as the first Arab country to reach Mars
A hundred years ago, today's hyper-modern UAE was a vast expanse of desert. Its landscape resembled that of Mars. The United Arab Emirates has created history by becoming the first Arab country to reach the red planet. The project's completion took six years, and women made up 80 percent of the Mars mission's Emirati team.
They had set a goal to send a probe to Mars to mark the Emirates's 50th birth anniversary. However, it has its sights on the colonization of the red planet by 2117. That is a directive by Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.