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Mission of the United Arab Emirates: Mars probe "Hope" reaches orbit of the red planet

2021-02-09T16:43:25.293Z


The first space mission of an Arab state to a distant planet has cleared an important hurdle. The "Hope" probe reached Mars several million kilometers from Earth.


Icon: enlarge

Mars probe "Hope" (symbol)

Photo: UAE Space Agency

A good six months ago, the United Arab Emirates sent a Mars probe into space.

On Tuesday, the aircraft called "Al-Amal" or "Hope" reached an important stage and entered an orbit of the red planet.

The first interplanetary space mission of an Arab state is of great symbolic power: it could give the modernization of the Emirates a boost (read more here).

"Hope" weighs 1,350 kilograms and is about the size of an off-road vehicle.

It was launched on July 20, 2020 from the Japanese space center Tanegashima.

It took the probe almost seven months to travel 493 million kilometers to Mars.

The swiveling of the probe into Mars orbit was described by representatives of the Emirati space agency in advance as the most complex maneuver of the mission.

The probe had to slow down in order to be caught by the force of gravity of Mars.

For this purpose, all six Delta V thrusters were switched on for the first time.

They should reduce the speed from 121,000 to 18,000 kilometers per hour within 27 minutes.

It was planned that the probe would lose around half of its fuel.

A few minutes after the maneuver, news reached Earth that everything had gone well.

more on the subject

  • Mars mission of the United Arab Emirates: "It's not about pride, it's about our future" By Christoph Seidler

  • Mission "Hope": United Arab Emirates send probe towards Mars

The probe will now orbit Mars once in 40 days.

Then »Hope« is supposed to change into a suitable orbit in order to start collecting scientific data.

No landing on Mars

Unlike the current Mars missions by China and the US, the Arab mission does not plan to land on the Red Planet.

However, three high-tech measuring instruments on board the “Hope” are supposed to explore the planet's atmosphere for a Mars year, that is 698 days.

An infrared spectrometer measures the deeper Martian atmosphere and analyzes the temperatures there.

A high-resolution imaging device collects information on ozone levels in the Martian atmosphere, and an ultraviolet light spectrometer measures oxygen and hydrogen levels.

Research into the atmosphere of the distant planet should also allow conclusions to be drawn about the earth's climate.

In addition, with the mission, the Emirates want to "send a strong message to Arab youth and remind them that we were producers of knowledge," said Omran Scharaf, project manager of the mission, with a view to the golden age of science in the Arab world Middle Ages.

For the Emirates, the Mars mission is also the ticket to be accepted into an exclusive club on time for their 50th anniversary: ​​So far, only the USA, India, the former Soviet Union and the European Space Agency (ESA) have made missions to Mars.

Long-term goal: Settlement on Mars

The United Arab Emirates has twelve satellites in space and plans to position a few more in the coming years.

In September 2019, Hassa al-Mansuri was also the first Emirati to fly into space.

He was the first Arab on board the International Space Station, but only for eight days.

The "Hope" mission is only the beginning of a comprehensive exploration of Mars.

The Emirates want to build a settlement there by 2117.

To research the living conditions on the planet and to develop technologies for colonization on Mars, a "Science City" is already being planned in the desert at the gates of Dubai.

The Emirates also want to send an unmanned rover to the moon in 2024.

Another field of activity is the development of space tourism.

To this end, the Emirates have signed a letter of intent with Richard Branson's space company Virgin Galactic.

The country also announced that it wanted to create a space court.

Icon: The mirror

jme / dpa / AFP

Source: spiegel

All tech articles on 2021-02-09

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