It’s launch day for the Emirates Mars Mission – and you will be able to watch the history-making moment via an online stream at emiratesmarsmission.ae/live
Following a series of delays due to bad weather, the launch has officially been ‘green lit’ and the coverage of which will start at midnight tonight, with the launch of the ‘Hope Probe’ officially taking off at 01:58 (Gulf Standard Time) on July 20.
The unmanned research probe will launch from the Tanegashima Space Centre in Japan, before making its 495,000,000-kilometre journey towards the red planet’s atmosphere – which is expected to enter by February 2021.
With the mission’s control team operating out of the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre, the Emirates Mars Mission is set to become the Arab world’s first interplanetary mission, as it looks to further develop its capabilities in space science and engineering.
The Emirates Mars Mission is designed to orbit Mars and study the dynamics in the Martian atmosphere on a global scale, and on both diurnal and seasonal timescales.
Using three scientific instruments on board of the spacecraft, EMM will provide a set of measurements fundamental to an improved understanding of circulation and weather in the Martian lower and middle atmosphere.
Combining such data with the monitoring of the upper layers of the atmosphere, EMM measurements will reveal the mechanisms behind the upward transport of energy and particles, and the subsequent escape of atmospheric particles from the gravity of Mars.
The contact period with the MOC is limited to 6-8 hours, twice a week. During this time, it is expected that Hope Probe will transfer over 1 TB of novel data on Mars’ atmosphere and its dynamics.
Esquire now has a newsletter – sign up to get it sent straight to your inbox.
Want up-to-the-minute entertainment news and features? Just hit ‘Like’ on our Esquire Facebook page and ‘Follow’ on our @esquiremiddleeast Instagram and Twitter account.
