UAE’s Mars Hope Probe Arrives At Launch Site In Japan
Below video is showing the massive 83-hour mission – released by Sheikh Mohammed.
بحمد الله تم انجاز إحدى أهم المراحل النهائية لإطلاق أول مسبار عربي إسلامي للمريخ عبر نقله من مركز محمد بن راشد للفضاء في دبي إلى محطة الإطلاق في جزيرة تانيغاشيما باليابان تحت إشراف فريق من مهندسينا الإماراتيين في عملية استغرقت ٨٣ ساعة من العمل المتواصل..مسبار الأمل للمريخ قريبا pic.twitter.com/qbSlyPxMhM
— HH Sheikh Mohammed (@HHShkMohd) April 25, 2020
The feat was achieved under the supervision of a team of Emirati engineers despite a Covid-19-triggered suspension of international travel. The video showed the engineers adhering to precautionary measures like wearing face masks and maintaining social distancing as they went about their business.
مسبار الأمل هو إنجاز يمثل نقطة تحول للعالمين العربي والإسلامي في مجال الفضاء … الوصول للمريخ لم يكن هدفه علمياً فقط … بل هدفه أن نرسل رسالة للجيل الجديد في عالمنا العربي بأننا قادرون .. وبأن لا شيء مستحيل .. وبأن قوة الأمل تختصر المسافة بين الأرض والسماء.. pic.twitter.com/44S9H09xzF
— HH Sheikh Mohammed (@HHShkMohd) April 25, 2020
The probe, which forms the core of the Emirates Mars Mission, will be launched in July this year. It is expected to reach the Red Planet in the first quarter of 2021, which will mark the golden jubilee of the emirates’ union in 1971.
Sheikh Mohammed tweeted that the team is still eyeing the July take-off date as per the plan.
He expressed pride in the feat that was accomplished despite restrictions due to the Covid-19 situation. “Despite tough global travel conditions, our engineers are working according to schedule to complete the region’s top space science project,” he said.
He pointed out that the probe was developed in less than six years instead of 10 “and at half the cost”.
رغم ظروف توقف السفر عالميا، ورغم الاحترازات الصحية العالمية..ما زال مهندسونا يعملون وفق الجدول المعتمد لإنجاز أهم مشروع علمي فضائي في منطقتنا..تم تطوير المسبار في أقل من المدة المعتادة عالميا (ست سنوات فقط من عشرة ) .. وبنصف الكلفة .. والهدف إطلاقه في يوليو وفق الجدول المعتمد pic.twitter.com/BJFyyGokMK
— HH Sheikh Mohammed (@HHShkMohd) April 25, 2020
“The Hope probe represents a turning point for the Arab and Islamic world in the space sector. Reaching Mars is not only a scientific goal, it sends a message to our Arab youth that we are capable and that hope transcends the distance between earth and the skies.”
As reported by Khaleej Times, in February the final component on the probe featuring the names and signatures of Their Highnesses the UAE Rulers and Crown Princes was installed. The inscription on the component reads: “The power of hope shortens the distance between the earth and the sky.”
The probe will be launched from the Tanegashima Space Centre and its journey is expected to take seven to nine months. Called Al Amal in Arabic, the Hope Probe will become the first to provide a complete picture of the Martian atmosphere and its layers.
It will help answer key questions about the planet’s environment and the loss of hydrogen and oxygen gases in space. The spacecraft is also expected to collect more than 1,000GB of new data on Mars. This first-of-its-kind data collection will then be stored at a specialised national centre and shared with the global scientific community for free.