On Sunday, July 19, the United Arab Emirate's (UAE) $200 million Hope spacecraft departed from a Japanese Mitsubishi Heavy Industries H-2A rocket originating from the Tanegashima Space Center in Japan.
Approximately an hour after its initial launch, the spacecraft detached from the rocket's upper stage and commenced its solo journey to Mars. Its seven-month voyage to the Red Planet is expected to end in February 2021.
By then, the spacecraft is anticipated to enter the planet's orbit and begin its mission. According to Yousef Al Otaiba, UAE's ambassador to the United States, years of hard work and perseverance have finally paid off as the UAE's first Mars spacecraft is now en route to the Red Planet.
Now with the spacecraft on its way to Mars, it will be months of nervous waiting and hard work for the mission control team at the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center in Dubai.
When Hope arrives, it will be settled into an orbit between 20,000 and 43,000 kilometers atop Mars' surface. Different parts of Mars will rotate underneath the spacecraft as it is expected to complete an orbit once every 55 hours.
Hope's Scientific Missions
Onboard the spacecraft are three essential instruments necessary to carry out a number of scientific goals. It is set to study oxygen and hydrogen in the planet's atmosphere. Moreover, it also aims to determine how Mars lost its atmosphere over the last few billion years.
Additionally, Hope will also act as a Martian weather satellite. The spacecraft will be responsible for updating about dust storms and ice clouds, as well as checking the weather at different times of the day to track for seasonal changes.
After the spacecraft's instruments get checked out, its science mission will start in May 2021. Aboard the craft is a camera that will also be used to take images of the planets and return them to Earth.
The mission will take about two Earth years, approximately one Martian year. However, depending on how Hope handles its time on the Red Planet, it could last up to four Earth years or two Martian years.
UAE's Venture Into Outer Space
Although Hope has specific scientific goals, the Emirates Mars Mission also has a more extensive purpose. It is designated to showcase that the UAE is embracing science and knowledge as it advances into a new era.
According to Omran Sharaf, the project lead on the mission, the UAE wants to support the creation of a competitive, creative, and innovative knowledge-based and post-oil economy.
He adds that the mission is a catalyst for change as the country looks into an advanced and capable science and technology sector.
Before this mission, the UAE has only little prior experience in space, operating just a few spacecraft orbiting the Earth. However, the country has huge ambitions. Following this mission, the UAE hopes to launch a rocket to the Moon for the first time in 2022.
Moreover, the country has also talked about sending humans to Mars in the future. With the UAE's Mars 2117 program, it aims to look at some challenges that humans will most likely face on Mars.
