After years of anticipation, the Emirates Mars Mission successfully inserted the Hope Probe into orbit around Mars Tuesday evening, a remarkable feat for the burgeoning space programme and a historic moment for both the country and the entire Arab world.
The story does not end here, of course. Now that the Hope Probe has arrived, the real work can begin.
But what is it there to do?
According to the European Space Agency (ESA), who made it to Mars in 2003, the Hope Probe will complement the existing scientific missions to Mars, providing key data missing from other attempts.
Most importantly, the Probe will be able to us about the present-day climate on Mars.
“Just as we have discovered with Trace Gas Orbiter and Mars Express, clues in the data may help reconstruct the climate evolution over time and place constraints on Mars’ ancient atmosphere,” said a statement from the ESA.
Previous missions, the ESA explains, were “trying to get closer and closer to the planet in attempt to achieve higher and higher spatial resolution which is essential for surface studies, but not always optimal for atmospheric research.”
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In other words, we’ve been too focused on the surface, and the atmosphere has not been studied enough.
“Hope will provide a complementary global view of atmospheric phenomena, thus filling the gap in context atmospheric imaging,” say the ESA.
“Hope will provide an extra set of eyes on Mars’ weather and climate: It is important that we can do continual monitoring of Mars in order to monitor atmospheric circulation and weather patterns, and place constraints on the sources and sinks of chemical species.”
Further, having the top scientists from the UAE on board will bring new ideas and new capabilities which could lead to new insights and ideas that others had not considered once the data starts rolling in.
This is, overall, a collaboration, as all international science missions should be. Schiaparelli, a technology demonstration vehicle carried by the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) was launched in 2016, as part of the ExoMars programme, a joint endeavour between Russia’s Roscosmos State Corporation and the ESA. They have postponed the 2020 launch of the second ExoMars mission to the Red Planet to 2022 due to certain technical reasons.
The ESA explained to WAM that three instruments that the Hope Probe is equipped with would build on Mars Express and TGO’s atmospheric investigations: EXI multi-spectral framing camera with band passes for aerosols, EMIRS-TIR spectrometer for temperature profiles and aerosol retrievals, and EMUS – a far-UV instrument for thermosphere investigations.
Put simply, that means they’ll be able to tell more about the weather and climate, as explained before.
The Emirates Mars Mission overall now has a big success to hang its hat on, which legitimises the body even more on the international stage. That will mean that the UAE will likely be a part of any and all major Mars explorations in the future, and beyond.
“The UAE has just entered the small but rapidly expanding group of spacefaring nations with interest and capabilities in Mars exploration, thus giving more opportunities for nations and agencies like ESA to establish partnerships in future as we together continue the search for life on Mars and work to finally make human Mars exploration a reality,” said the ESA.
It will also inspire new generations in the UAE and the broader Arab world, leading to even more brilliant minds turned towards the stars, essential for humankind’s future.
“As the saying goes, hope springs eternal,” said the ESA.
But there’s still one big question left. How will the Hope Probe help man set foot on Mars?
Studying the atmosphere will help give a better understanding of the global dust storms, which would be crucial for future human missions to Mars, the ESA said.
“Ultimately, though, Mars exploration plans should result in an even greater adventure – a human mission. For a human Mars expedition to be possible, new technologies will have to be developed and tested,” according to an article published on ESA website.
“A human Mars mission, perhaps with the moon as a first target or even as a way station to the Red Planet, would represent the culmination of the programme’s efforts. And just incidentally, it would also guarantee that there was life on Mars: human life.”
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