UAE’s Hope Mars probe: watch live as historic spacecraft hits Red Planet

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This story is part of Welcome to mars, our series exploring the red planet.

It’s a big week for the robots of Mars. The first of three missions launched in July of last year will reach the Red Planet on Tuesday and you can follow it live here.

The United Arab Emirates space mission, the Hope probe, is expected to enter orbit on Mars on Tuesday. The United Arab Emirates space agency will provide live coverage starting at 7:30 a.m. PT.

We won’t get any live views of the spacecraft in action, but look forward to it as Mission Control follows Hope in his maneuvers and reports on what will hopefully be a successful arrival. You can follow the progress of the transducer online as it nears its destination.

Hope has spent over 200 days traveling from Earth to the Red Planet. It will not deliver a rover, but he is ready to undertake important science by studying the atmosphere, weather and seasons of the planet.

Hope will soon be followed in orbit by China’s Tianwen-1 Wednesday, and NASA will take over on February 18 when it tries to land the Perseverance rover on the surface of the planet. It will be a perilous and exciting time during a busy month on Mars.

But first, all eyes are on Hope.

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