UAE details plans for first Arab Mars mission

[bananas]

Source: International Business Times

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) unveiled on Wednesday (6 May), details of its Mars mission. The UAE plans to send an unmanned probe to Mars by 2021, in the Arab world's first mission to another planet.

The probe will take nine months to complete the more than 37.5 million-mile journey to Mars, and will make the UAE one of only nine countries with space programmes exploring the Red Planet.

The launch date for the Mars probe, dubbed the Hope Probe is sometime around July 2020. It is expected to arrive on Mars just in time to coincide with the UAE's 50th anniversary of independence.

Vice-president of the UAE and ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid al Maktoum said he hopes the mission will inspire a new generation of scientists in the region.

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Read more: http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/uae-details-plans-first-arab-mars-mission-1500169

[bananas]

1. I just saw a brief news video on this

It's main mission is analysis of the atmosphere, it sounded very interesting.

[hibbing]

2. Hope Probe?

Sounds like something a cult would use. Bend over, it is now time for your Hope Probe.

Peace

[drm604]

3. We give our probes name like Sojourner and Curiousity.

What's wrong with "Hope"?

[muriel_volestrangler]

4. No, a cult would call their craft 'faith'

Oh, wait, the USA did that 52 years ago: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/mercury/missions/faith7.html

[BlueEye]

5. They have enough money to do it, that's for sure.

Thinking about it, the UAE is uniquely well positioned for a space program in many ways. Lots of cheap real estate located on a large body of water (safe to launch over, just like Cape Canaveral and the Atlantic), close proximity to an equatorial launch trajectory, tons of money to finance a program, well connected to the world via Abu Dhabi and Dubai, etc.

Best of luck to them, any contribution to science is good in my opinion.