Emirates becomes Mars explorer with Hope probe

Hope reached Mars after a seven-month journey of over 493.5 million-kilometres following its launch from the Tanegashima, Japan.

Mars 2020 mission gears up for a red planet return

The probe fired its six Delta-V thrusters for 27 minutes to decelerate from its cruising speed of 121,000km/h to 18,000km/h to achieve Mars Orbital Insertion (MOI). It will maintain this capture orbit, calibrating and testing its science instruments, before moving to its science orbit. Hope will then provide the first planet-wide picture of Mars’ weather system and climate throughout the Martian year.

“MOI was the most critical and dangerous part of our journey to Mars, exposing the Hope probe to stresses and pressures it has never before faced,” said Omran Sharaf, EMM Project Director at the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre. “While we have spent six years designing, testing and retesting the system, there is no way to fully simulate the impacts of the deceleration and navigation required to achieve MOI autonomously. With this enormous milestone achieved, we are now preparing to transition to our science orbit and commence science data gathering.”