The United Arab Emirates’ first mission to Mars is expected to arrive on the red planet and enter its orbit on Tuesday after a seven-month, 494 million km journey, allowing it to begin sending data about Martian atmosphere and climate.
This would make the UAE the fifth space agency to reach the planet. The Mars program is part of the UAE’s efforts to improve its scientific and technological capabilities and reduce reliance on oil. Even the UAE Space Agency has an ambitious plan to settle on Mars by 2117.
The attempt has a 50 percent chance of locking into orbit around Mars, Dubai governor and UAE Vice President Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum said Tuesday.
“But even though we couldn’t get into orbit, we have already made history. This is the furthest part of the universe that Arabs reach through history … It is our goal is to give all Arabs hope that we can compete with the rest of the world, “he said.
To enter Mars orbit, the probe must burn some of the 800kg of fuel on board to slow down without overpowering the planet.
“If the probe is slowed down then the probe would go into orbit that would eventually fall on Mars,” said the Associate Professor of Astronomy and Communications. Science Daniel Brown, from Nottingham Trent University in the UK to Reuters
“If it goes over, then it will be ejected to an interplanetary space on a much larger orbit around the Sun and is unlikely to meet Mars at all,” he said, adding that there were other conditions between those edges.
This year marks 50 years of independence from Britain and the founding of the UAE. Mars probes launched by China and NASA are expected to arrive just after the UAE’s construction in July of the planet this month.
The Emirates Mars Mission, which cost about $ 200 million (around Rs. 1,500 crans), launched the Hope Probe from a Japanese space station. It aims to give a complete picture of the Martian atmosphere for the first time, examining daily and seasonal changes.
The UAE first announced plans for the mission in 2014 and launched a National Space Program in 2017 to improve local knowledge. The population of 9.4 million, mostly foreign workers, lacks the scientific and industrial base of the major space nations.
Hazza al-Mansouri was the first Emirati in space in 2019 when he flew to the International Space Station.
To develop and build the Hope Probe, Emiratis and the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Center in Dubai (MBRSC) worked with US educational institutions.
© Thomson Reuters 2021
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