UAE's 'Hope' probe to be first in a trio of Mars missions

The first Arab space mission, the UAE's "Hope" probe, is expected to reach Mars' orbit and making it the first of three spacecraft to arrive at the Red Planet this month.

Context

The first Arab space mission, the UAE's "Hope" probe, is expected to reach Mars' orbit and making it the first of three spacecraft to arrive at the Red Planet this month.

• The United Arab Emirates, China and the United States all launched projects to Mars last year.

Hope Probe

• "Hope", known as "Al-Amal" in Arabic, will orbit the planet for at least one Martian year, or 687 days.
• "Hope Probe" 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 in 2021.
  

Objectives of the mission

• Climatic study: Understand climate dynamics and the global weather map through characterizing the lower atmosphere of Mars.
• Atmospheric studies: Explain how the weather changes the escape of Hydrogen and Oxygen through correlating the lower atmosphere conditions with the upper atmosphere.
• Correlational analysis: Understand the structure and variability of Hydrogen and Oxygen in the upper atmosphere, as well as identifying why Mars is losing them into space.