In an historic announcement in July 2014, the President of the UAE, His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan revealed the formation of the UAE Space Agency and the intention of sending the first Arabic-Islamic probe to Mars, which will be fully developed by a 100% Emirati team, on a scientific voyage of discovery by 2021, named the Emirates Mars Mission.
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His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, said: "We chose the epic challenge of reaching Mars because epic challenges inspire us and motivate us. The moment we stop taking on such challenges is the moment we stop moving forward.”
The UAE enters the global race to explore outer space with the first Arabic-Islamic probe developed by a 100% Emirati team, on a scientific voyage of discovery to the Red Planet by 2021
MBRSC is working on designing and building the first UAE Arabic-Islamic probe to be sent on a scientific voyage of discovery to Mars. It is a scientific mission that marks the entry of the UAE into the global race of space exploration, and restores the Islamic Arabic leadership in Astronomy and Space Sciences.
Our wise leadership, represented by His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE and His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, has identified the means, which is developing a national team of highly qualified scientific cadres and engineers who will design and build the probe and monitor its journey. The mission will be completed in seven years and is scheduled to arrive to the Red Planet in 2021, coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the founding of the UAE.
A Message of Hope to the worldHis Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, revealed that probe to carry out the Emirates Mars Mission would be named Al Amal, or “Hope”, because the mission represents the hopes and dreams of the Arab world. The Hope Probe will reach Mars in the year of the 50th anniversary of the union of the emirates, adding extra poignancy to the mission.
The project has been described by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid as sending three important messages: The first is that Arab civilisation will again play a pioneering role in contributing to human knowledge, as it once did. The next is that for the Arab world nothing is impossible, we are able to compete with other nations in the race for knowledge, and the third is that those who strive to reach the highest peaks must set no limits to their expectations.
The message is to lead a national technological and scientific renaissance in the UAE and the Arab world, and to develop human knowledge related to the universe. This mission was entrusted to MBRSC, depending on the centre’s expertise, knowledge, successes and achievements in space projects.
Scientific objectives of Emirates Mars MissionThe scientific and logistical details of the first Arab probe to Mars will address questions that have previously remained unanswered.
The Hope Probe will uncover the reasons behind the decay of the Red Planet’s atmosphere and the corrosion of the surface that has made it impossible for water to exist on the planet.
It will also be the first probe to study dynamic changes in the Martian climate as it moves through its daily and seasonal cycles.
Launch WindowThe Hope Probe design, manufacture and launch are under the full commission of the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre, with supervision and direct funding from the UAE Space Agency. The deadline is 2020, and this deadline requires the development, design, review, manufacture and testing to be completed in time for the launch window. The probe’s journey will take nine months, during which the probe will travel more than 60 million kilometres to the red planet.
The TeamThe Hope Probe team is made up of more than 75 Emirati engineers and researchers, a number that is set to increase to 150 by the year 2020. The probe will be built by a team of Emiratis who will employ the engineering expertise and knowledge gained since MBRSC entered the space science and technology sector over 10 years ago. There are also a number of specialist partners across the world that will contribute the transfer of knowledge to aid work on the project.
