The United Arab Emirates’ interplanetary mission, the “Hope” probe, will enter Mars’ orbit if it successfully completes the “most critical and complex” manoeuvre on Tuesday. The unmanned probe, named “Al-Amal” in Arabic, lifted off from Japan's Tanegashima Space Center in July last year as the UAE took another step towards its ambitious space programme. The UAE, China, and the United States launched their Mars probe in the same month but Hope will be the first of the trio to enter the orbit of the Red planet.
How is UAE’s Hope probe different from that of China and the US?
While China’s Tianwen-1 and the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover from the US will land on Mars' surface, the Hope probe will remain in the orbit for at least one Martian year i.e. 687 days. The unmanned probe is expected to provide pictures of Mars’ atmosphere from the orbit by using the three instruments mounted on it.
The infrared spectrometer will measure the temperature structure of the lower atmosphere and the high-resolution imager will inform about the ozone levels. The ultraviolet spectrometer will measure the levels of oxygen and hydrogen from a distance of up to 43,000 kilometres from Martian surface.
Why the mission faces its most critical and complex manoeuvre?
According to Emirati officials, the spacecraft needs to be slow enough to be captured by the gravity of Mars which will require the probe fire its brake engines for about 27 minutes. For the first time in its seven-month-long journey, Hope will fire all of its six Delta-V thrusters to slow its cruising speed from 121,000 kilometres per hour to about 18,000 kilometres per hour in those 27 minutes. The manoeuvre is supposed to consume half of the spacecraft’s fuel and the signal of the mission’s progress will reach Earth after 11 minutes.
{{/usCountry}}According to Emirati officials, the spacecraft needs to be slow enough to be captured by the gravity of Mars which will require the probe fire its brake engines for about 27 minutes. For the first time in its seven-month-long journey, Hope will fire all of its six Delta-V thrusters to slow its cruising speed from 121,000 kilometres per hour to about 18,000 kilometres per hour in those 27 minutes. The manoeuvre is supposed to consume half of the spacecraft’s fuel and the signal of the mission’s progress will reach Earth after 11 minutes.
{{/usCountry}}What's next?
If the manoeuvre is successful, the probe will revolve around the planet in this phase for around two months before it is ready to enter the “science orbit” for data collection purpose. The UAE will become the fifth nation to ever reach Mars. It will also give a boost to its plan of creating a “Science City” outside Dubai in order to simulate Martian condition. The proposed Science City will help develop the technology in its ambitious plan to build human settlement by 2117.