Today we prove to the world that nothing is impossible for the Emiratis

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, said that the UAE is celebrating today the 50th anniversary of the founding of the state, the fruit of the work of Zayed and Rashid, may God bless their souls, in building the human being.

His Highness said in a tweet on Twitter: “We celebrate fifty years of establishment by reaching Mars, God willing. We celebrate the fruits of the work of Zayed and Rashid, may God bless their souls, in building the human being. We begin preparing for the new fifty years. We prove to the world that nothing is impossible for the Emirates and the Emiratis. We take the Arabs to the furthest point in the universe.”

As His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum said in a recorded message to the people of the Emirates, which he posted on Twitter: “In the coming hours, the Hope Probe will reach Mars, and the biggest challenge will be entering Mars’ orbit. 50% of human missions that tried before us were unable to enter Mars’ orbit. But I say that even if we did not enter orbit, we have entered history. This is the farthest point in the universe that Arabs have reached throughout their history. More than five million working hours by more than 200 Emirati engineers, both male and female. Our goal is to give hope to all Arabs that we are capable of competing with other nations and peoples. We ask God for success in reaching Mars.”

His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre, said that the Hope Probe is an honorable Arab model in empowering young cadres in science, technology and space specializations, strengthening international partnerships in the fields of research and innovation, supporting the global scientific community, and spreading knowledge for the future of humanity.

His Highness inspected the final preparations for the crucial stage of the Hope Probe’s historic journey on the scheduled date of its entry into the capture orbit at 7:42 pm UAE time today. During the visit, His Highness the Crown Prince of Dubai, who was accompanied by Minister of Cabinet Affairs Mohammed bin Abdullah Al Gergawi, was briefed on the latest preparations being made by the Hope Probe team at the ground control station at the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre in Dubai, where His Highness listened to the team’s presentation of the various scenarios proposed for this stage of the historic journey, during which the Hope Probe has travelled 493 million kilometres in space over the past seven months since its launch on July 20, 2020.

During the visit, His Highness said: “I was briefed by the work team on the latest procedures and preparations underway for the arrival of the first Arab space mission to Mars’ orbit, and I witnessed the probe team’s complete readiness for all scenarios in preparation for entering the capture orbit around the Red Planet to begin its scientific missions.”

His Highness added: “Reaching this advanced stage of the Emirates Mars Exploration Project is a message of hope, ambition and achievement for every young man and woman in our region and the world that we are capable of achieving success and writing new achievements in this project, the first of its kind in the Arab world, thanks to the unlimited support of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and his brother His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, for this project that, upon its success, will make the UAE the fifth country to reach Mars.”

His Highness praised the efforts of the Emirates Mars Exploration Project (Hope Probe) team, saying: “I thank everyone in the Hope Probe team, which has embodied, since the launch of the project in 2014, an example of teamwork, dedication, devotion, and keenness to innovate and continuously improve, overcoming all obstacles and difficulties, and transforming challenges into opportunities. It has also set a model for cooperation with scientific partners from around the world to establish global scientific cooperation in the field of space exploration, exchange of knowledge and expertise, and transfer of knowledge.”

During his tour, His Highness the Crown Prince of Dubai met with the teams responsible for scientific, engineering, operational and operations of the Hope Probe, praising the qualitative stages they have achieved so far, which have brought the probe to its current location and strengthened the UAE’s global position in the space exploration sector as the first Arab country to launch a space mission to Mars, opening new horizons for global scientific cooperation.

His Highness was accompanied during the tour of the Hope Probe ground control station at the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre by the Emirates Mars Exploration Project (Hope Probe) Project Manager, Eng. Omran Sharaf, the Deputy Project Manager for Probe Operations, Eng. Zakaria Al Shamsi, and the Deputy Project Manager for Probe Development, Eng. Suhail Al Dhafri.

For science

If the Hope Probe succeeds in entering the Mars capture orbit on schedule today, it will begin flying in its scientific orbit to begin its scientific missions aimed at providing unprecedented scientific data that will be equivalent in size to 1,000 gigabytes of valuable information about the planet’s atmosphere, weather conditions, climate changes, and daily and seasonal weather, to be made available free of charge to more than 200 academic, scientific, and research institutions around the world.

Several possibilities

The probe team has prepared for all possibilities and scenarios, especially since the success rate of spacecraft entering Mars’ orbit is 50%, and is linked to many criteria and potential risks. The Hope Probe is carrying out a process that is unprecedented in the field of spacecraft management for space exploration, which is to reduce its tremendous speed from 121,000 km/h to 18,000 km/h using reverse self-propulsion to slow its momentum in deep space and enter the rendezvous orbit around the Red Planet.