Brace Yourself: T-Minus TWO Hours Until The Emirates Mars Mission
TODAY IS THE DAY – The first Arab interplanetary Mars Mission starts today.
You can’t turn on a radio station, open a newspaper (slash your Lovin Dubai app (App Store) (Play Store) 😉) without seeing red.
The city is rouge people! Buildings are lit, traffic signs have changed, rulers profile pages have been updated… all to make noise for this historic moment. A plan that’s been decades in the making comes to fruition today when an Arab spacecraft *hopefully, enters the Mars orbit for the first time.
The Mars Mission will be the first probe to provide a complete picture of the Martian atmosphere and its layers when it reaches the red planet’s orbit and… WE’RE NEARLY THERE!
The countdown to the Mars Mission is on: You can watch it live here from 7pm
The UAE is doing what it does best and celebrating today in the best possible way. First HH Sheikh Mohammed made an important announcement
He said that despite what happens later (there’s only a 50% chance this mission will be successful due to scientific challenges) he says it’s already been a success.
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DXB is making noise for the big moment and if you’re passing through Concourse B at 7pm you’ll find the event streamed live
If you’re travelling through DXB tonight, stop by the big screen near gates B26 and watch history in the making as the UAE Mars Hope Probe enters the orbit of Mars for the first time. Streaming live from 7pm, in Concourse B near Gate 26 #arabstomars pic.twitter.com/K72oDqpUci
— Dubai Airports (@DubaiAirports) February 9, 2021
Visitors to the UAE are getting a ‘Martian Ink’ passport stamp upon arrival
"ختم المرّيخ" يرØب بالقادمين إلى مطارات #دبي بالتزامن مع وصول مسبار الأمل إلى المريخ@HopeMarsMission https://t.co/rVDNGLxsX6 pic.twitter.com/wAInp9yGe6
— Dubai Media Office (@DXBMediaOffice) February 9, 2021
The stamp will offer a memorable reminder of a new era for Arabs in time and space with a special message reading: “You’ve arrived in the Emirates. The Emirates is arriving at Mars on 09.02.2021.
What happens at 7.30pm tonight?
Reaching Mars requires a significantly reduced speed of 18,000 km/h to be able to be captured around Mars’ orbit, utilising the planet’s gravitational field. That will be one of the toughest moments of this mission so far.
So far, The Hope Mars Mission preparations have gone to plan. This is a severely rehearsed and tested procedure. The spacecraft needs to work completely autonomously, we have no real-time communication. It takes about 11 mins for one-way comms to Mars.
Via Sarah Amiri, the Minister of State for Advanced Technology
.@SarahAmiri1: Think of the @HopeMarsMission as what could be the first weather satellite of Mars. It characterises the planet’s weather system throughout an entire Martian year, equivalent to two earth years. pic.twitter.com/J6mRZt6SRG
— Dubai Media Office (@DXBMediaOffice) February 9, 2021
The Mission will then spend 2 years completing scientific research undertaking tasks which include…
- Understand climate dynamics and the global weather map through characterizing the lower atmosphere of Mars.
- Explain how the weather changes the escape of Hydrogen and Oxygen through correlating the lower atmosphere conditions with the upper atmosphere.
- Understand the structure and variability of Hydrogen and Oxygen in the upper atmosphere, as well as identifying why Mars is losing them into space.