This Week In Space: The UAE Is Almost To Mars!

The United Arab Emirates will make history very soon as their mission to Mars approaches the red planet. The Hope mission (Al-Amal in Arabic) is one of three missions across the globe launched towards Mars last summer, but Hope will be the first one to reach our closest neighbor on February 9th when it enters orbit.

Hope, along with China’s Tianwen-1 and NASA’s perseverance Rover, all launched last July during a window of time when Earth and Mars were very close that made for an optimal launch. Hope is the UAE’s first-ever interplanetary mission, and it’s designed to spend one Martian year (about two Earth years) studying the Mars atmosphere that is, if they can successfully enter orbit.

More of the missions to Mars attempted by humans so far have failed than succeeded, so it’s not a guarantee at all that Hope will be able to complete the very tricky maneuver that will get the probe into Martian orbit. The craft will need to carefully fire its thrusters for half an hour at the exact right time to do that. But Hope’s program managers are optimistic.

Pete Withnell is one of those managers. He works at the University of Colorado’s Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics program. And yeah, that’s a long way from Dubai, but that’s because the UAE partnered with the UC lab for the missions. Withnell told Space.com that he optimistic about the mission, but still anxious. “We are fortunate to have a very healthy spacecraft, and everything is looking very good at the moment,” Withnell said. “I’m optimistic; that would be my primary emotion right now. But I can tell you many of the team are waking up at two o’clock in the morning in a cold sweat just thinking and rethinking about aspects.” Speaking at a press conference, UAE Space Agency Chair Sarah Al Amiri added, “Right now, the team has prepared as well as they can possibly prepare to reach orbit around Mars.”

When Hope reaches Mars, it will make the UAE only the fifth country in the world to reach the red planet, and Hope’s mission will do something no one has done before by creating the first full look at Mars’ atmosphere, including mapping seasonal changes. Some amazing science will happen because of this, so we have, well, Hope, that everything will go well.

While Hope is the UAE’s first big mission, for their next one they are literally shooting for the moon, with a lunar rover named Rashid headed to the skies in 2024.

Here are some other Space cases we had this week.

• A little bit of space junk became a “mini-moon” which will be visible in early next week before drifting back off into space. (via Earthsky.Org)
• The dreaded Mercury retrograde begins tomorrow! Prepare yourself and remember, it’s a good time to back up your files! (via InStyle)
• Preparing for a Spacewalk is certainly one way to spend the weekend. (via NASA)
• And finally, check out this amazing Astronomy picture of the day!
  

  [RPT] The Vertical Magnetic Field of NGC 5775: https://t.co/LJEsinY8KS by NRAO, @NASA, @esa, Hubble;sProcessing & Text:sJayanne English (U. Manitoba) pic.twitter.com/PR31Ez0E1Q

  — Astronomy Picture Of The Day (@apod) January 27, 2021

(via: Space.com, image: GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images)

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