In a bold and high-speed dive from the swan in space, the first interplanetary probe from an Arab nation will try to enter orbit around Mars on Tuesday, followed closely in the coming days by ambitious missions to the red planet in the US and China.
The UAE’s 1.5-tonne SUV satellite, called al-Amal, or Hope, carries three sensors designed to make the first complete weather observations of the planet’s surface. The $ 200 million mission is the cornerstone of the national effort to make science and technology the backbone of the small Gulf state’s economy, waiting for a day when its oil revenues decline, UAE officials said.
“It is about stimulating many changes in the economy of the United Arab Emirates, which today, more than ever, should have a solid foundation in science,” said Sarah al-Amiri, Minister of State for Advanced Science and President of the Space Agency. EAU. “The best way to do this, from what I experienced as a nation, was a space exploration mission.”
At the most critical moment of its 306 million-mile journey from Earth, which began in July with the launch of a Japanese rocket that launched it into space, the Hope spacecraft was scheduled to launch its propellers on board on Tuesday. for 27 minutes to reach a stable orbiting Mars. The maneuver had to be controlled autonomously by the on-board computers, because the 22-minute delay in radio transmissions between the boat and the Earth made it impossible to control the ground.
“This is the first time we have actually used all six engines and our entire control system,” said Omran Sharaf, the project manager at the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center in the United Arab Emirates in Dubai, before the maneuver. “My feelings? Very very nervous. Extremely nervous. Worried. Scared. But I’m also confident. Happy. Proud.”