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