Illustration of the United Arab Emirates 'Hope' probe.
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Alexander McNabb / AP / SIPA
This part of the trip is considered the most critical.
The probe of the first Arab interplanetary mission is expected to enter orbit around Mars on Tuesday.
The craft called "Al-Amal" ("Hope" in French and "Hope" in English), took off in July from the space center of Tanegashima (southwest of Japan).
The mission is led by the United Arab Emirates.
The space ambitions of this oil-rich Gulf country are seen as a reminiscence of the golden age of great cultural and scientific achievements in the Middle East.
Studying the atmosphere of Mars
"Al-Amal", a probe weighing 1,350 kg and the size of a 4x4, took seven months to travel the 493 million kilometers to Mars.
It will remain in orbit for a whole Martian year, or 687 days.
This mission should make it possible to study the atmosphere of Mars to "provide a first complete understanding" of its climatic variations over an entire year, Sarah al-Amiri said at the time of the launch when she was deputy head of the project.
She is currently the UAE's Minister of Advanced Technologies and President of the country's space agency.
Three instruments attached to "Hope" will thus provide a complete picture of the atmosphere of Mars.
An infrared spectrometer will measure the lower atmosphere and analyze the temperature structure and a high-resolution imager will provide information on the ozone levels.
Finally, an ultraviolet spectrometer will measure oxygen and hydrogen levels at a distance of up to 43,000 kilometers from the surface.
Many projects
With this mission, the federated state affirms its spatial ambitions.
It already has nine functioning satellites in orbit and plans to launch eight more in the coming years.
In September 2019, Hazza al-Mansouri was the first Emirati to be sent into space, aboard a Soyuz rocket, and the first Arab citizen to stay on the International Space Station.
But the country's ambitions go even further as it plans to build a human colony on Mars by 2117. In the meantime, it plans to create a "scientific city" in the desert on the outskirts of Dubai, in order to simulate the Martian conditions and to develop the technology necessary to colonize the planet.
The Emirates are also considering mining and space tourism projects.
They signed a memorandum of understanding with Virgin Galactic.
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