UAE is going to mars!! Yes, you read that right.

Be ready to witness the first-ever attempt of an Arab country to send a Probe to Mars on the 17th of July 2020. 

The ‘’Hope Probe’’ has become the talk of the town when UAE announced to make history by the scheduled launch of the ‘’Hope Mission’’, during the early hours of Tuesday. The ‘Hope’ -or ‘Amal’ in Arabic- is expected to reach the orbit of Mars by February 2021 colliding with the 50th anniversary of the unification of the United Arab Emirates.

What’s more exciting and interesting is that once the probe reaches mars it won’t land on it, but rather keep circling around the planet for a whole martial year -687 days which is almost two years on earth. That means it will be 2023 when humans are going to get new information, pictures, and details about Mars that will then be shared with the rest of the world. 

Want to know more? Keep reading…

When Will It Fly To Space?

The Hope Probe was scheduled to leave earth at 00:51 on July 15 but due to bad weather conditions, it is now supposed to launch on Friday,17th July from Tanegashima space center in Japan at 12:43 am (UAE time). If the weather remains bad the launch of this probe can extend up to 3rd August. Oman Sharaf, the project manager for the Emirates Mars Mission has said to Forbes, “We have a three-week launch window starting on July 15, UAE time, and closing around August 3,” “It’s critical that we launch during that time-frame otherwise we have to wait two years to reach Mars.”[1]

Where Will It Launch From?

The Hope Probe is set to launch from the Tanegashima space center in Japan. A lot of people asked-But why in Japan? And Here’s what Sharaf had to say:-“We considered launches from the US, Europe, Russia, India and Japan, and we looked at the heritage, the capacity, what rockets can get us into the orbit that we need so that we can start our cruise towards Mars,” “Obviously the cost of these things came into play, too.”[1]

How Long Will It Take Hope To Reach Mars?

As soon as the Hope Probe leaves the ground it will take 6-8 months (approx 200 days) to reach the orbit of Mars and from there the probe will loop around the planet for a whole Martian year which is 687 days.

What’s So Different About This Mission?

Hope Probe will study the elements of the Martian atmosphere in ways no other probe has ever before. We know that Mars is losing its hydrogen and oxygen, partially due to solar wind but the exact reason is not known. The ‘hope’ will study both the lower and upper atmosphere of Mars and try to find an existing connection. Also ‘hope’ will study the climate system of mars, monitoring and observing all the changes that happen throughout the day for all seasons. It will also observe whether phenomenons such as dust storms as well as note the changes in the air and temperature that will uncover the reasons for Martian surface erosion. 

How Much Did It Cost?

The Hope Probe for the Emirates Mars Mission cost nearly up to 173 million dirhams which are approximately 123 million dollars. However, this project is considered to be a low budget one as compared to the other missions that have taken place before.

Well, we are as excited as you are and luckily we all can get to see the launch of the Hope Probe from japan!

Here’s where you can watch the Livestream video of the launch.

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