UAE’S HOPE PROBE SET FOR JULY 15 LAUNCH
The Probe is expected to enter the Red Planet’s orbit in February, coinciding with golden jubilee celebrations of the historic union of the emirates
The UAE’s Hope Probe (Al Amal in Arabic) to Mars will be launched exactly at 12.51.27am on July 15 (UAE time) from Japan’s Tanegashima Space Centre, the Emirates Mars Mission (EMM) announced yesterday.
The probe will be carried aboard a Mitsubishi Heavy Industries’ (MHI) H-IIA rocket. The first interplanetary exploration by an Arab nation will involve a 495 million km journey to reach and orbit Mars.
The UAE has previously collaborated with MHI to successfully launch the KhalifaSat.
The probe is anticipated to enter Mars’ orbit in February next year, coinciding with the UAE’s golden jubilee celebrations marking the historic union of the emirates.
The countdown to the launch began last month after the probe’s successful transfer from the UAE to Japan, in a journey that spanned more than 83 hours by land, air and sea.
According to EMM, the scheduled launch date represents the opening of the launch window, which extends until August 13, 2020. The time from mid-July to early August is the biennial window when Earth and Mars are closest. If the launch cannot be attempted within this window, the mission will have to wait two years for another opportunity. “The Hope Probe is a national project that translates the vision of the UAE’s leadership to build an Emirati space program that reflects the country’s commitment to strengthening frameworks of international cooperation and finding solutions to global challenges for humanity’s benefit,” the EMM said in a statement to Gulf News.
Omran Sharaf, EMM mission kead, was quoted in a CNN report sayig: “Hope was shipped to Japan three weeks earlier than planned, while a team was sent two weeks prior, allowing them time to quarantine.”
Sarah Al Amiri, Minister of State for Advanced Sciences and Emirates Mars Mission Deputy Project Manager, said: “The challenges overcome by the Hope Probe team amidst the global pandemic confirm the UAE mission’s commitment to achieve the impossible.”
“This mission embodies the nation’s aspirations, sends a positive message to the world and demonstrates the importance of carrying on unabated despite barriers and challenges,” she added.