Abu Dhabi [UAE], July 20 (ANI): The United Arab Emirates launched its first-ever interplanetary Hope Probe mission to Mars from Japan’s Tanegashima Space Centre at 01:58 a.m. (local time) on Monday.
“United Arab Emirates (UAE) launches its first mission to Mars, the ‘Hope Mars Mission’ from Japan’s Tanegashima Space Center,” UAE Space Agency said on its Twitter page.
The spacecraft is expected to reach Mars orbit in about 200 days from now and then begin its mission to study the Red Planet’s atmosphere, WAM news agency reported.
Once it enters Mars‘ orbit in the first quarter of 2021, the Hope probe will mark the UAE‘s 50th anniversary.
The probe will travel 493 million kilometres into space in a journey that will take seven months, and will orbit the Red Planet for one full Martian year of 687 days to provide the first truly global picture of the Martian atmosphere.
The Hope probe will be the first to study the Martian climate throughout daily and seasonal cycles. It will observe the weather phenomena on Mars such as the massive famous dust storms that have been known to engulf the Red Planet, as compared to the short and localised dust storms on Earth.
It will also examine the interaction between the upper and lower layers of the Martian atmosphere and causes of the Red Planet’s surface corrosion, as well as study why Mars is losing its upper atmosphere.
Exploring connections between today’s Martian weather and the ancient climate of the Red Planet will give deeper insights into the past and future of Earth as well as the potential of life on Mars and other distant planets.
The Hope Mars Mission is considered as the biggest strategic and scientific national initiative announced by UAE‘s President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan and His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum in 2014. The UAE will be the first Arab nation to embark on a space mission to the Red Planet in a journey that contributes to the international science community as a service to human knowledge.
The interplanetary mission is the first by any West Asian, Arab or Muslim majority country. (ANI)
Hope Probe Mars Mission is UAE’s contribution to entire world: UN official
Abu Dhabi [UAE], July 19 (WAM/ANI): Emirates Mars Mission, Hope Probe, is the UAE‘s contribution to the entire world, a top United Nations (UN) official told WAM.
“The UAE is always looking forward to the future, it is our wonderful partner. The important part is that they are not doing this (Hope Probe) for themselves but for the region and the entire world,” said Simonetta Di Pippo, Director of the UN Office for Outer Space Affairs, UNOOSA.
“I am excited about the Hope Probe. This shows that the UAE is becoming really a main player in the space arena,” she added in a Skype interview from Vienna.
The Hope Probe is scheduled to lift off at 1:58 UAE time on July 20, from the Tanegashima Space Centre in Japan.
“It is very interesting that a country, which did not have a space programme or a space agency until a just a few years ago, is now able to launch a probe to Mars,” Di Pippo noted.
The UAE became a member of the UN Committee on Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, COPUOS, in 2015.
“Still in a few years, they have been able to develop a strong space agency. We, in particular, have quite strong collaborations with the UAE and the UAE space agency. So, we are really waiting for Hope Probe‘s launch with a certain excitement,” the UNOOSA Director said.
The UNOOSA and the UAE Space Agency signed an agreement in June to increase collaboration on the long-term sustainability of space activities and promote the use of space for sustainable development.
The agreement lays the cornerstone to establishing a UNOOSA project office in the UAE, acting as a new global hub to foster international progress on space sustainability and space for development issues.
Di Pippo said “the UAE is particularly keen in the field of sustainability, not only in space but in general, so it was natural in a way to start discussing with the UAE space agency about the possibility to develop some joint initiatives related to space sustainability”.
Opening of the UNOOSA project office in the UAE came up as part of those discussions, she revealed.
“I am looking forward to the opening of the office in the UAE (in near future),” the UNOOSA Director said. (WAM/ANI)
