UAE rockets into elite Mars club DARKNESS
This historic achievement would not have been possible without the persistence and determination to implement the idea that emerged at the end of 2013 by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who followed it up closely until its success.
July 16, 2014
When HH Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan announced a Mars mission
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-president and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai; His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces; and Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, congratulate the Mars Mission team at the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre in Dubai on Tuesday. — Dubai Media Office
Nandini Sircar
he stakes were high. The challenges huge. But the UAE’S penchant for making the impossible possible won against all odds as this less than 50-year-old country officially conquered the Red Planet.
On Tuesday, at 7.42 pm local time, the UAE became the first Arab country and the fifth in the world — after the US, Russia, the EU and India — to reach Mars as the Hope probe slung into the Martian orbit. At the end of the nail-biting 30 minutes of “terror” when contact was disconnected with the ground station, the probe sent its signal back to Earth.
“Mission Accomplished,” tweeted
The Hope probe’s successful arrival in Mars is an Arab and Islamic achievement that was made possible by the relentless efforts of our youth. It celebrates our journey of 50 years in the best image that fits the UAE and captures its true story to the world.
HH Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-president and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, who has taught the country to dream big. The monumental feat has added a golden feather in the UAE’S space cap as all Mars missions have 50 per cent success rate.
“204 days and more than 480 million km later, the Hope Probe is now in the Capture Orbit of Mars,” the official Twitter account of the mission tweeted as the entire nation erupted in joy.
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>> Edit: UAE’S journey to reaching for the stars • Page 10 >> SEE ALSO • Pages 4, 5, 6 & 7
30 MINUTES FROM
allan Jacob
Those 30 minutes of silence, of darkness, of ‘terror’ as scientists called it, when the UAE held its collective breath, when hearts pounded and eyes were glued to screens, have thrown fresh light on Hope.
The UAE’S Mars spacecraft had sunk into the shadows behind the planet and was in autonomous
The Hope probe’s historic arrival in Mars is the greatest celebration of the 50th anniversary of our country. It sets the beginning of the next 50 years with boundless ambitions and dreams. Our next accomplishments will be even bigger and greater. mode at 7.42pm. It was clear that the control centre was not in command during this ‘dark phase’ that was programmed in advance here on Earth.
Omran Sharaf, Project Manager of the Emirates Mars Mission, and his team at the centre kept their nerve through the tense silence. The young Emirati refused to take a seat as he stared and did not give the game away. Some words were best unspoken while the spacecraft flirted with the Martian orbit.
The hush was unnerving as Hope
TO LIGHT
descended into the Red Planet’s dark embrace, quickly at first, then slowing down as it burnt up fuel. Minutes ticked away in what seemed like eternity during the critical manoeuvre that had to be done at 18,000km an hour.
Monitors in the room flashed. Omran watched them intently and then exchanged words with a colleague. He watched the screen again but quickly turned his gaze away.