The Emirates Mars Mission (EMM), the Hope Probe is all set to enter the orbit of Mars on February 9 at 7.45 pm local time, officials announced Wednesday. The first interplanetary mission ever by an Arab nation will also enable a massive scientific data platform through the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Center.
The Minister of State for Advanced Technology and chair of the UAE Space Agency Sarah Al Amiri said earlier that Hope Probe is to enter the most crucial phase of its mission, the Mars Orbit Insertion (MOI). The probe, launched in July 2020 from Tanegashima, Japan travelled approx. 493.5 million kilometres for seven months to reach the orbit.
The UAE will begin to share the scientific data by next September. The nation expects to deliver new information of about 1,000 gigabytes to 200 research institutions across the world. It will also be made available to students and researchers who are interested in space science. The information inferred by the rover will be circulated to gain a deeper understanding of the evolution of climate and planets within our solar system.
The 'Mars Rover of Hope' carries 3 scientific apparatuses, designed to provide the first comprehensive picture of how the Martian atmosphere varies daily.
The probe's scientific instruments consist of a detection camera capable of capturing high-resolution images and detecting lower atmosphere temperature, an infrared spectrometer and Ultra-Violet (UV) spectrometer. The infrared spectrometer measures the distribution of dust, water vapor and ice clouds in the lower atmosphere. Meanwhile, UV spectrometer gauges the oxygen, carbon monoxide, hydrogen in the thermal layer and upper atmosphere.
EMM will make UAE, the fifth country in the world to reach Mars after the USA, Soviet Union, China, the European Space Agency, and India.