According to Emirati media, the first Arab probe to Mars is expected to cover the remaining distance in 14 days, reaching its destination on February 9th. Two hundred Emirati engineers and researchers are working on the Hope Probe project, which was launched into space on July 20th from the Tanegashima Space Center in Japan.
According to the newspaper "Al-Bayan," once it reaches the scientific orbit around Mars, the probe will communicate with the ground monitoring station at the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre twice a week, with each communication lasting between 6 to 8 hours. The newspaper also mentioned that the ground control team for the UAE Mars Exploration Project, which includes a selection of qualified national talents in the space control sector, is continuing its preparations for the next phase of the probe's journey and its successful entry into the appropriate orbit to start its scientific mission.
The main tasks of the ground support team focus on receiving scientific and operational data from the probe, which is then presented to engineers who analyze the status of its instruments. During its mission, the Hope Probe will transmit a significant amount of scientific data about the Martian atmosphere and its dynamics, with the total data expected to exceed 1 terabyte at the end of the mission.
It is worth noting that the probe carries three scientific instruments to study the Martian climate. The first is a digital exploration camera that captures high-resolution color images of Mars, measuring ice and ozone in the lower atmosphere; it can take images with a resolution of 12 megapixels and can examine the optical spectral range with 3 ultraviolet bands and 3 visible bands.
The second instrument is an infrared spectrometer that measures temperatures, dust distribution, water vapor, and ice clouds in the lower atmosphere. The third instrument is an ultraviolet spectrometer, which is dedicated to measuring oxygen and carbon monoxide in the thermal layer and measuring hydrogen and oxygen in the upper atmosphere.
Once it reaches its destination, the probe will begin capturing images of Mars and sending them to the ground operations center for analysis. The Hope Probe will take an elliptical orbit around Mars at an altitude ranging from 20,000 to 43,000 kilometers, taking 55 hours to complete one full orbit around the planet.
