The United States, Russia, India … everyone wants to explore space. But no Arab nation had ever done interplanetary exploration. Until now. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) will launch the Mars Hope spacecraft on July 14. He’ll do it from Japan. It is an orbiter for the Red Planet. And it will be the first Arab mission to Mars.
The launch of Mars Hope into space will take place on July 14th at 10:51 p.m. It leaves the Tanegashima Space Center in southwestern Japan. A Mitsubishi Heavy Industries H2A rocket is used. The start window runs until August 13, 2020.
The Emirates mission to Mars will send the Hope probe on a 495 million km journey. It will reach the red planet’s orbit in February 2021. It has a clear goal: to create the first complete picture of the Martian climate during a Martian year. It is longer than a country year: it has about 687 days.
The start of the first Arab mission to Mars consists of two phases. In the first phase, the 53-meter-long Japanese rocket will reach a speed of 38,000 km / h to bring the spacecraft into orbit. At that time, a seven-month journey begins at a speed of 121,000 km / h until it reaches Mars’ orbit in February 2021. This coincides with the UAE’s “Golden Jubilee” celebrations on the occasion of the historic Union of the Emirates.
Mars Hope is a fully autonomous spacecraft with three instruments to measure the Martian atmosphere. It weighs 1,350 kilos and is about the size of a small SUV. The ship was designed and developed by MBRSC engineers. The American universities of Colorado, Arizona and Berkeley worked together.
The mission will examine the relationship between the upper and lower layers of the Martian atmosphere. For the first time, scientists from more than 200 universities and research centers around the world have access to a complete overview of the atmosphere of the planet. You will appreciate it in the different seasons and times of the day.
The mission to Mars of the Emirates and the Hope probe are the culmination of a great effort. The transfer of knowledge and the joint development of engineers from the Emirates with partners from all over the world are remarkable. Together they designed the devices and spaceships of the Emirates and had a scientific team that consisted of 80% women.
