The official website of the Emirates Project for Exploring Mars stated that the "Probe of Hope", which will be launched to Mars on the 15th of July, will start taking its first high-quality images of the surface of the "Red Planet", as soon as it reaches its orbit, by February 2021, according to the planned flight schedule. , Coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the UAE federation, explaining that this mission will be accomplished through the "Emirati Exploration Camera" that was manufactured and installed at the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Center in Dubai, with the minds and hands of young Emirati cadres.
In detail, the "Probe of Hope" begins its first Arab mission, the ninth in the Arab world, after less than six days, as it departs to Mars from the Tanegashima space center using the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries platform, bringing with it an "Arab legacy of achievements in the fields of astronomy." And science, laying the foundations for a prosperous Arab future in space exploration, ”according to what His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai has confirmed.
By 00:51:27 of the morning of July 15, Emirates time, the countdown indicators will stop, marking the launch of the probe in a space flight expected to take about seven months, to reach the probe into its orbit on the "Red Planet" in conjunction with the 50th anniversary of the establishment of a state The United Arab Emirates.
The site stressed that the probe of hope will start upon its arrival at its practical station, its first scientific mission, which is to take high-resolution images of the surface of Mars, and start studying the lower atmosphere layer of the red planet, explaining that this mission will be accomplished through three highly sophisticated scientific devices designed to collect The largest volume of information about the climate of Mars, which is the "infrared spectrometer" and the "ultraviolet spectrometer", in addition to the "exploration camera" that was manufactured and installed in the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center, with young Emirati minds and hands , And she underwent several stages of testing, construction and rigorous checks during the probe manufacturing and preparation process.
The site reported that the "Emirates Exploration Camera" is a multi-wavelength radiative camera, capable of taking 12-megapixel visual images of Mars, as it will work to capture high-resolution color digital images of the red planet during sandstorms, and study the bottom layer of the Martian atmosphere through the visible spectrum. Ultraviolet waves, measuring the proportion of water ice in the lower atmosphere, and measuring the amount of ozone.
He pointed out that the three advanced devices allow the provision of scientific answers that have not been previously presented to any space mission in the field of exploring Mars, including searching for common factors that combine the current climate on Mars, and its climate in the distant past before losing its atmosphere, and studying the causes of fading the atmosphere In Mars by tracking the rush of hydrogen gases and oxygen toward space, which together form water molecules, discovering the relationship and interaction between the upper and lower layers of Mars’s atmosphere, providing the first comprehensive picture of how the atmosphere of Mars has changed, and weather changes throughout the day, And throughout the seasons continuously.
He stated that the probe will carry out its mission related to studying the atmosphere of Mars from a scientific orbit that is at the closest point to the surface of Mars at an altitude of 20 thousand km and at the farthest point will be at an altitude of 43 thousand km, and the probe will be able to complete a full cycle around the planet every 55 hours with a degree of inclination Orbital of 25 degrees.
The orbit gives preference to the probe of hope over any other spacecraft, as none of the previous missions to Mars had a similar orbit; It had orbits that allowed it only to study the atmosphere of Mars at one time during the day.
The Emirates project to explore Mars supports the position of the UAE as a global partner in the development of human knowledge and enhances the Arab contribution in this field, and transforms the UAE and the Arab world from countries that use knowledge to countries that provide knowledge and actively participate in supporting the space sector and the scientific community, and will also contribute to radical changes in the development of The capabilities of the UAE and the Arab world in the field of engineering, industrial, scientific and research infrastructure.
"Emirates Camera" through the eyes of "NASA"
The UAE Exploration Camera “EXI” is a multi-band high-resolution camera (visible and ultraviolet), mounted on the probe dashboard, specifically on the side facing Mars, where it will work with a focal level accuracy of up to 12.6 megapixels, and a 4: 3 aspect ratio (4096 x 3072) pixels, at 5.5 ونm / pixel, while the system has a 12-bit dynamic range.
The official website of the American Space Agency (NASA) stated that the infrared spectrometer would be concerned with measuring the temperature, distribution of dust, water vapor, and icy clouds in the lower atmosphere, known as the "thermosphere" layer.
The mission of the probe includes searching for common factors between the current Mars climate and its climate in the distant past.