When you think of the major space powers, nations such as the USA, Russia and China spring to mind. No one would have thought that the UAE, a small nation who just ten years ago didn't even have a space agency , would be the fifth nation to reach Mars, and even more impressively, reach Mars on their first attempt. As the country where I was born and grew up, the UAE's progress in the space sector is truly fascinating to me and developing the space agency and technology needed to get to Mars in just six years is an incredible achievement. So here is the story of the Hope probe and the Emirates Mars Mission (EMM) so far...
True colour photo of Mars taken from European Space Agency esa.int/Enabling_Support/Operations/ESA_Mars_orbiters_support_NASA_Perseverance_landing
The UAE Space Agency (UAESA) was established in 2014 and, working alongside the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC), announced within it's first year that the UAE would send an unmanned probe to Mars by 2021 (to coincide with the country's 50th anniversary). As the country had only just launched its first satellites (DubaiSat1 in 2009 and DubaiSat2 in 2013), this seemed an impossible task but on the 20 July 2020 the Hope probe (launched in a Japanese Rocket from Japan's Tanegashima Space Centre) began its seven month journey across the solar system towards the red planet.
Entering orbit around Mars on 9 February 2021, coinciding with the start of the UAE's 50th national day celebrations, the probe is studying Mars from a unique scientific orbit, allowing for the first ever planet-wide complete picture of the Martian atmosphere over all seasons and all times of day. The other satellites that are currently orbiting Mars have orbits designed to only be able to measure the atmosphere at a single time of day meaning that diurnal measurements in specific locations have not yet been possible. The probe will be in contact with the mission operation centre for six to eight hours, twice a week where it will send back data on atmospheric dynamics and weather systems.
The Hope probe (called Al-Amal in Arabic, also meaning Hope) has 3 main scientific objectives involving taking measurements of and understanding the Martian atmosphere. These goals align with objective II of the Mars Exploration Program Advisory Group (MEPAG), an international forum providing consensus on aims of the scientific exploration of Mars. The probe aims to collect data for one Martian year (around 680 Earth days) to establish a better understanding of the planet's weather systems, the structure of oxygen and hydrogen in its exosphere (upper atmosphere) and its climate dynamics. The data, which will be made available without embargo to the scientific community (a rarity in the field of space exploration), aims to help scientists answer the questions of why Mars is losing its atmospheric gases into space and why it's atmosphere is no longer suitable for sustaining life, or liquid water.
Built by an entirely Emirati team using Emirati universities and research institutes, with women as 30% of the team and 80% of the mission scientists and being the first interplanetary mission by an Arab Islamic nation, the EMM is truly working to establish the UAE as a beacon of progress in the region. The EMM aims to inspire younger generations and begin to establish a knowledge based economy in the country as oil demand begins to decline. Reaching Mars is just one of the first steps in the UAE's exploration of space, and maybe one day soon the country will be considered widely as a major space power.
Find out more about EMM: https://www.emiratesmarsmission.ae/mission/about-emm
UAESA website: https://space.gov.ae/
Comments