5 facts you should know about the Hope Probe

As it approaches the capture orbit around Mars, marking the success of the first Arab planetary exploration mission

As it approaches the capture orbit around Mars, marking the success of the first Arab planetary exploration mission

5 facts you should know about the Hope Probe

1. It does not carry astronauts on board. It will not land on the surface of Mars. It cannot be returned to Earth again
2. The mission of the probe to reveal the secrets of Mars could extend an additional Mart year, that is, two Earth years, for a total of 1374 Earth days if extended
3.  When designing, building and programming the probe, the team took into account all the scenarios and challenges of its Mars mission.. But unpleasant surprises are always present in deep space.
4. The Emirates, if the flight succeeds, will be the fifth country to reach Mars, but the scientific goals of the probe are historically unprecedented and were not achieved by previous missions
5. The probe will have a distinct orbit above the Martian equator with an unprecedented view of the red planet that will enable scientific instruments to perform their mission with the highest efficiency

 

Dubai United Arab Emirates, 3February 2021: As the “Hope Probe” approaches its capture orbit around Mars next Tuesday (corresponding to the ninth of February this year) at الساعة 7:42 evening UAE time, 5 facts that followers and those interested in the first Arab planetary exploration mission led by the UAE should know.

First fact

The "Probe of Hope", which falls under the umbrella of the Emirates Mars Exploration Project, does not carry astronauts on board, but rather precise scientific devices programmed to collect about 1000 gigabytes of information, data and facts that humanity has not previously reached, and send it to the ground control station located within the Center Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center in the Al Khawaneej area in Dubai. Also, the probe, which weighs about 1350 kilograms, the equivalent of a small car, will not land on the surface of Mars, because its scientific mission with historically unprecedented goals does not require doing so, and this probe, which costs about $ 200 million, which is equivalent to about Half of the cost of similar space projects, thanks to the efforts and perseverance of the working team of young national cadres, cannot be returned to Earth again, and after the successful completion of its Mars mission, it will remain in its orbit around the planet Mars.

 The Emirates Mars Exploration Project, the Hope Probe, has already contributed to a qualitative leap in the Emirati space sector, as it is an emerging sector. contribute In diversifying the national economy and the growth of the country’s gross product through new activities and areas based on innovation and the knowledge economy, it also contributes to building capabilities and empowering young national cadres to be able to lead the national space sector to new stages of sustainable growth, and inspires students and youth in the country and the Arab world to care Studying and specializing in science and engineering, due to its importance for the future of the UAE.

The Emirates Space Agency and the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center announce that the ground station will receive the first broadcast of the Hope Probe

The Hope Probe also consolidates the position of the UAE in the international community as an active country and a contributor to the progress of humanity, in addition to being a knowledge-producing country that achieves the good of humanity.

The objectives of the “Hope Probe” - upon its successful arrival in its orbit around the red planet - include providing an integrated picture of the Martian atmosphere for the first time in human history, which will help scientists to reach a deeper understanding of the causes of the erosion of the atmosphere of Mars and the role of climate change in changing the composition of the atmosphere Note that one of the studies that the probe will conduct is to study the phenomenon of dust storms that cover the entire planet and the causes of their occurrence and the role of sandstorms in the erosion of the atmosphere and the escape of oxygen and hydrogen from the atmosphere of the red planet. Understanding the atmosphere of Mars will help us better understand Earth and other planets.

The strategic objectives of the project are manifested in developing a strong national space program, building highly qualified Emirati human resources in the field of engineering, technology and space sciences, developing a unique scientific mission, and developing a diversified space sector by developing categories and transferring knowledge and expertise.

The second fact

The scientific mission of the Hope Probe, which will start as it reaches the sixth and final stage of its Mars journey, can be extended to an additional two years so that scientists can complete their study of the phenomena that are discovered about the planet during the initial scientific mission. The nature of exploration begins with a question that is answered, and every answer and discovery generates questions. other. .

The Hope Probe has been designed, developed and programmed so that the duration of its scientific mission in revealing the secrets of the Red Planet is a full Martian year, that is, 687 days (about two years by Earth calculations), provided that this mission is extended - if necessary - an additional Martian year, that is, two additional Earth years, The total duration of the mission is 1374 Earth days, which is about 4 years.

The third fact

When designing, developing, building and programming the probe of hope, its sub-systems and scientific devices, the Emirates Mars Exploration Project team took into account all the main scenarios and challenges that the probe may face on its 7-month journey in space, in addition to the possibilities and sub-challenges that may emerge from these scenarios during the probe’s entry into orbit around the planet.

The probe has already succeeded in overcoming all the challenges it faced since the launch of the project as an idea in the ministerial retreat in 2013, and the subsequent multiple phases of the project, I started in the stage of designing a probe with half the time and half the cost

Despite the successful launch of the Hope probe on July 2020, 50, its mission to reach the orbit of Mars and explore it is not without risks, as the success rate of reaching the orbit of the Red Planet historically does not exceed XNUMX%.

The difficulty of entering the capture orbit around Mars lies in the fact that communication with the probe will be intermittent, and the entry process, which requires slowing the probe’s speed from 121 kilometers per hour to only 18 kilometers, will be autonomous, in which the probe relies on its programming to do it without direct control from the the ground station, and the probe will have to complete this 27-minute process alone, without the project team being able to help it, hence the name of these XNUMX “blind” minutes, as the probe, without human intervention, will address all its challenges in this period in a way If there are any technical malfunctions in the six reverse thrust engines that the probe uses in the process of slowing its speed, this will cause the probe to get lost in deep space or crash, and in both cases it cannot be recovered.

Although the work team has prepared and programmed the probe to be ready to face all possibilities alone at this stage, and has conducted simulations and experiments to overcome programmed challenges, but unpleasant surprises in space remain, especially since this is the first time that a probe system is used The hope that was built entirely inside the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center instead of buying it ready, and the process of entering the capture orbit around Mars cannot be simulated - in similar space conditions and environment - on Earth.

Fourth fact

Despite the fact that the Mars mission of the Hope probe will make the UAE - if it successfully reaches the orbit of the red planet - the fifth country in the world to achieve this historic achievement, the scientific goals of the probe are the first of its kind throughout history, as it aims to paint a complete picture of climate change, Which is witnessed by this planet most similar to Earth in the solar system, throughout its four seasons, which helps scientists around the world to understand the reasons for its transformation from a planet similar to Earth to a planet with a harsh and dry climate, and thus may benefit humanity in avoiding a similar fate to the planet on which it lives, This comes as a translation of the vision and directives of the wise leadership of the UAE, which stressed the importance of the Martian mission of the Hope Probe within the Emirates Mars Exploration Project, including unprecedented scientific goals in human history, in the interest of all humanity.

This February is a Martian month with distinction, as there are 3 countries, the United States of America and China in addition to the UAE, racing to reach the Red Planet during this month, and if the “Hope Probe” succeeds in skipping the 27 blind minutes and reaching the capture orbit. On time or with a delay of up to two hours, depending on the possible scenarios identified and prepared for by the Emirates Mars Exploration Project team, the UAE will be at the forefront of this race, and it will become the fifth country in the world to reach the orbit of Mars, and it will also be the third country in the world to reach the orbit of the planet Red on the first try.

Fifth truth

If the Hope probe successfully overcomes the challenges of the stage of entering the capture orbit around Mars, then the stage of transition to the scientific orbit, and later reaching the sixth and final stage of its Mars journey, which is the scientific stage, it will have throughout this extended stage a Martian year that can be extended for an additional Martian year in a distinguished position above The Martian equator, with an unprecedented view of the Red Planet, enabling the scientific instruments carried by the probe on board to perform its mission with the highest possible efficiency.

During the scientific phase, the Hope probe will orbit the red planet every 55 hours in an elliptical orbit ranging from 20 km to 43 km, and the working team will communicate with the probe through the ground control station two to three times a week, and the duration of each communication window is from 6 To 8 hours, bearing in mind that the communication delay due to the distance ranges between 11 to 22 minutes, in order to send commands to the probe and its scientific devices, as well as to receive the scientific data collected by the probe throughout its mission, in cooperation with the international scientific partners of the project. The ground control center is equipped at the highest level to carry out this task through young national cadres.

Qualitative scientific program

It is noteworthy that the Emirates project to explore Mars, "The Hope Probe", is a national strategic initiative announced by His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE and His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, on July 16, 2014, to be a state The UAE, upon the success of the Hope Probe mission, is the fifth country in the world to reach Mars, in implementation of its qualitative scientific program to explore the Red Planet.

The Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center has been assigned by the UAE government to manage and implement all phases of the project, while the Emirates Space Agency is responsible for the overall supervision of the project.

The Hope Probe was successfully launched on the 2020th of July 2021, and the probe will provide the first comprehensive study of the climate of Mars and its various layers of atmosphere when it reaches the Red Planet on February XNUMX, XNUMX, coinciding with the fifty years of the founding of the United Arab Emirates.

The Hope probe also carries messages of pride, hope and peace to the Arab region and aims to renew the golden age of Arab discoveries.