The first Arab spacecraft, the “Hope” spacecraft in the United Arab Emirates, is expected to reach Mars orbit on February 9, being the first of three spacecraft to arrive on the Red Planet this month.
The United Arab Emirates, China and the United States launched projects on Mars in July last year, taking advantage of a period when Earth and Mars are closest.
If successful, the rich Gulf state will become the fifth nation to ever reach Mars – an adventure scheduled to mark the 50th anniversary of UAE unification – China’s mission to become the sixth day .
Landmarks in the United Arab Emirates were illuminated in red at night, government accounts inscribed with the hashtag #ArabstoMars, and on the big day Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the tallest tower in the world, will be at the center of a celebratory show.
The hope, known as “Al-Amal” in Arabic, will orbit the planet for at least a Martian year, or 687 days, while China’s Tianwen-1 and the US Mars 2020 Perseverance rover will land on the surface of Mars.
Only the United States, India, the former Soviet Union and the European Space Agency have successfully landed on the Red Planet in the past.
Risky maneuver
After leaving Japan in July last year, the Hope mission is now facing its “most critical and complex” maneuver, according to Emirati officials, with a 50-50 chance of successfully entering orbit on Mars.
The spacecraft must slow down significantly to be captured by Martian gravity, rotating and pulling all six Delta-V thrusters for 27 minutes to reduce its cruising speed from 121,000 kilometers per hour to approximately 18,000 km / h (11,200 mph). )).
The process, which will consume half of its fuel, will begin on Tuesday, February 9, at 15:30 GMT (15:30 UTC) and will take 11 minutes for a progress signal to reach ground control.
Omran Sharaf, the project manager of the UAE mission, said it was a “great honor” to be the first of this year’s missions to Mars.
“It is humiliating to be in such a favorable and qualified company that we are all engaged in missions,” he said. “It’s never been a race for us. We approach space as a collaborative and inclusive effort.”
While the Hope spacecraft is designed to provide a comprehensive picture of the planet’s weather dynamics, it is also a step toward a much more ambitious goal – building a human settlement on Mars in 100 years.
While consolidating its status as a key regional player, the UAE wants the project to serve as a source of inspiration for young Arabs in a region too often affected by sectarian conflict and economic crises.
Hope will use three scientific tools to monitor the Martian atmosphere and expects to begin transmitting information to Earth in September 2021, with data available for research by scientists around the world.
Almost in the back
China’s Tianwen-1, or “Questions to the Sky,” has already sent its first image of Mars – a black-and-white photograph showing geological features, including the Schiaparelli crater and Valles Marineris, a vast expanse of canyons on the surface of Mars.
The five-ton Tianwen-1 includes a Mars orbiter, a lander and a solar-powered rover, which will study the planet’s soil and atmosphere for three months, take photos, chart maps and look for signs of past life.
China hopes to land the 240-kilogram rover in May in Utopia, a massive impact basin on Mars. Its orbiter will last a Martian year.
Tianwen-1 is not China’s first attempt to reach Mars. A previous mission with Russia in 2011 ended prematurely when the launch failed.
Tianwen-1’s first photograph of Mars. (China National Space Administration / AFP)
NASA’s perseverance, which is due to reach the Red Planet on February 18, will become the fifth rover to complete the 1997 trip – and so far they have been Americans.
He is on an astrobiology mission to look for signs of ancient microbial life and will try to fly a 1.8-kilogram drone helicopter to another world for the first time.
Perseverance, capable of autonomously navigating 200 meters (650 feet) a day, will collect rock samples that could provide invaluable clues about the existence of a past life on Mars.
About the size of a small SUV, it weighs a tonne, has 19 cameras and two microphones – which scientists hope will be the first to record sound on Mars.
The mission is to last at least two years.
© Agence France-Presse