Hope Probe set to beat two spacecraft to Mars
UAE’s orbiter to reach the Red planet at 7.42pm on February 9
The UAE’s Hope Probe is set to reach Mars first among the three space missions expected to reach the Red Planet next month.
Cruising at a speed of 81,627km/ h with a distance of around 54.2 million km remaining as of January 11, the first Arab interplanetary mission to Mars is expected to reach the Red Planet’s orbit on February 9 at 7.42pm ( UAE time).
China’s Tianwen- 1 dual rover is expected to reach on February 10, while Nasa’s Perseverance rover will make a landing attempt on February 18.
All three Mars missions were launched in July last year. Hope Probe lifted off from Japan’s Tanegashima Space Centre at 1.58am ( UAE time) on July 20.
Back in July, Dr Ahmad Belhoul Al Falasi, then chairman of the UAE Space Agency, told Gulf News that “to me it’s not really a race — we are all serving humanity. But it’s also like a friendly competition and it’s good to compete with others, with the UAE as the only Arab country going to space.”
Mars orbit insertion
The most challenging part now for Hope Probe is its Mars orbit insertion ( MOI). Emirates Mars Mission ( EMM) project manager Omran Sharaf earlier said: “Accuracy is the key to success. If Hope Probe goes too fast or too slow, it will crash on Mars or miss its orbit entirely. As it approaches Mars’ orbit, Hope Probe will do a 30- minute fuel burn using its thrusters and reduce its speed from 121,000km/ h to 18,000km/ h.”
After entering Mars’ orbit, Hope Probe will then transition to the Science phase. This is when itwill commence with its mission to build the first complete structure of the Martian atmosphere using its three advanced scientific instruments that will take pictures of the Red Planet’s atmosphere.
The UAE also plans to land an Emirati- made rover named Rashid on the Moon by 2024. This will pave the way for UAE’s mission of sending humans to Mars by 2117.