Mars Month: UAE Mission's Arrival This Week Opens Big Month For Martian Missions

The United Arab Emirates' (UAE) Hope mission is set to reach the Martian orbit this week, marking the beginning of a big month for Mars missions. It will soon be followed by China's and NASA's own Mars missions.

It was in July 2020 when the UAE, China, and the U.S. all launched respective missions set on a course for Mars. This week, the parade of Mars missions will begin the next part of the journey as the UAE's Hope mission is set to be the first to reach Mars's orbit this week.

"The Hope Probe is nearing the Red Planet!" Hope Mars Mission said in a Tweet. "Tune in at 7 PM UAE time on the 9th of February 2021 to witness our future make history."

For the critical part of the mission, the spacecraft will fire its thrusters for 27 minutes to slow it down enough for the planet's gravity to capture it into orbit.

Should the mission prove successful, the UAE will become the fifth to reach Mars, following the U.S., India, the European Space Agency, and the former Soviet Union. It will also coincide with the 50th anniversary of the unification of the UAE, AFP reported.

Ahead of the historical event, famous landmarks as Dubai's Burj Khalifa are being lit up in red.

"It is humbling to be in such auspicious and skilled company as we all embark on our missions," UAE project manager Omran Sharaf told AFP as reported by Phys.Org. "It was never a race for us. We approach space as a collaborative and inclusive effort."

Following the UAE mission, China's Tianwen-1 probe is set to enter Mars's orbit just a day later. Just last week, it also shared its first image of Mars, showing a black and white photo of the Red Planet.

Earlier, it had also sent back a photo of the Earth and the moon, as taken by Tianwen-1 when it was 1.2 million kilometers away.

Next week, on Feb. 18, NASA's Perseverance rover will touch down on the Martian surface, completing the three missions' arrival.

Together, the information that the three missions are set to collect may help provide a clearer picture of Mars. The Hope mission will get a closer look at the Martian atmosphere, climate, and weather from its orbit. In contrast, the Tianwen-1 mission, which includes a rover, an orbiter and a lander, will search for water and ice while also studying the planet's atmosphere. For its part, the Perseverance rover will search for signs of ancient life.

As for the Hope mission, apart from its scientific goals, the mission is also part of the UAE's goal to move away from dependence on oil and inspire young people in the Arab region to pursue the sciences.

It's also a way, the UAE Space Agency said, to encourage global collaboration.

"From our pursuit to find extra-terrestrial life to someday expand human civilization to other planets, Mars serves as a long-term and collaborative project for the entire human race," the agency said.