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The aim of the mission is to take a complete picture of Mars’ lower and upper atmospheres
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The Hope will study the Martian atmosphere, the relationship between the upper layer and lower layer
The Emirates Mars Mission (EMM), the first such exploration undertaken by an Arab nation, today said the mission has completed spacecraft and instrument exercises and is now ready to commence science data gathering. The two-year science mission, worth Dh 735 million, formally commenced on May 23, aiming to yield the first complete picture of Mars’ lower and upper atmospheres throughout the day, night and seasons of a full Martian year.
“Following a successful cruise to Mars, a near-perfect Mars Orbit Insertion maneuver and our transition from Hope’s capture orbit to our science orbit, we have completed our commissioning, calibration and testing phase. I am delighted to be able to report that the Mars Hope probe is perfectly positioned to commence its two-year science mission,” said Omran Sharaf, Project Director of EMM. The Hope’s historic journey to the Red Planet coincides with a year of celebrations to mark the UAE’s Golden Jubilee.
The Hope probe will study the Martian atmosphere, the relationship between the upper layer and lower layer and, for the first time, scientists globally will have full access to a holistic view of the Martian atmosphere at different times of the day, through different seasons.
The probe’s three instruments were activated on April 10 and a period of commissioning and testing followed. Since the Hope probe entered orbit around Mars, the Emirates Mars Ultraviolet Spectrometer (EMUS) instrument has collected nearly 14,000 spectral-spatial images of the atmosphere, corresponding to 1.6 million individual spectra.
This initial execution of four distinct observation types have demonstrated that the spacecraft and instrument work perfectly in tandem, accurately tracing the EMUS field of view across specific areas of interest. These observations will be repeated throughout science phase, characterizing the composition and structure of the upper atmosphere as it changes within and across seasons.
EMM and the Hope probe are the culmination of a knowledge transfer and development effort started in 2006, which has seen Emirati engineers working with partners around the world to develop the UAE’s spacecraft design, engineering and manufacturing capabilities. Hope is a fully autonomous spacecraft, carrying three instruments to measure Mars’ atmosphere. Weighing some 1,350 kg, and approximately the size of a small SUV, the spacecraft was designed and developed by MBRSC engineers working with academic partners, including LASP at the University of Colorado, Boulder; Arizona State University and the University of California, Berkeley.