Last year, the UAE announced plans for sending the first Arab spaceship to Mars in 2021, a feat designed to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the country’s founding. Now details on the unmanned probe to the Red Planet, named “Hope”, were revealed and they are as exciting as we expected.
On Wednesday, Sheikh Mohammed, the Ruler of Dubai talked at an official event in Dubai, where he unveiled details on the ambitious Mars probe programme. Previously, the spacecraft was said to be set for launch in 2021, but now the date has moved to July 2020, just in time for Dubai Expo 2020. The project was finally named – it will be called “Al Amal”, which means “Hope” in Arabic, and it will study the atmosphere of Mars. It means it will never actually land on the surface of the planet, but instead will get data on its daily and seasonal climate cycles while orbiting around it. If successful, “Hope” will be the first spacecraft to record the changes happening over time on Mars.
The project currently involves around 75 engineers and scientists, but their number will soon double as the UAE plans to work in cooperation with US experts. The probe, at the size and weight of a small car, will be attached to a launcher rocket, which will take it into space in 2020 – the year, when Dubai hosts the World Expo. Then the spacecraft will detach and accelerate to the speed of 126,000 km/h, heading to the Red Planet. The 600 million km journey will take 7 to 9 months. “Hope” will remain in Mars’ orbit for at least three years, during which it will take data on its atmosphere (yes, Mars does have an atmosphere, although it’s around 100 times thinner than what we have here on Earth). It will also explore the influence volcanos, deserts and canyons have on the climate changes. The probe will then send back the information to researchers in the UAE, who will freely share it with more than 200 global research centers and universities.
The staff, currently working on “Hope” is comprised entirely of Emirati scientists, which is a rare sight in a country, where expatriate population is several times that of nationals. The data gathered on the planet’s atmosphere will be send directly to the recently created Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Center in Dubai. In addition, the UAE’s space agency, which is just 10 months old, has signed agreements with other nations who already have established space programs.
