Hope Probe: UAE spacecraft blasts off in first ever mission to Mars | World Defense

Hope Probe: UAE spacecraft blasts off in first ever mission to Mars

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Mission had been delayed twice due to bad weather

The United Arab Emirates has launched its first mission to Mars, the first of three missions to the Red Planet to take place this month.

The Hope Probe launched from Japan’s Tanegashima Space Center for seven-month voyage, facing off bad weather which caused the mission to be delayed twice.

The mission originally intended to leave Earth on 14 July.

China and the United States also plan to launch their own missions this month: China intends to send a Martian orbiter, lander, and rover on the 23 July.

Nasa, meanwhile, will launch the Perserverence Rover to look for signs of Martian life - but has already had its launch date delayed before.

The Emirates Mars Mission has cost $200m (£155.8m), according to minister for advanced sciences Sarah Amiri. It aims to provide a complete picture of the Martian atmosphere for the first time, studying daily and seasonal changes.

The UAE first announced plans for the mission in 2014 and launched a National Space Programme in 2017 to develop local expertise. Its population of 9.4 million, most of whom are foreign workers, lacks the scientific and industrial base of the big spacefaring nations.

It has an ambitious plan for a Mars settlement by 2117. Hazza al-Mansouri became the first Emirati in space last September when he flew to the International Space Station.

To develop and build the Hope Probe, Emiratis and Dubai’s Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) worked with US educational institutions.

Around an hour after launch the probe deployed solar panels to power its communication and other systems. The MBRSC space centre in Dubai will then oversee the spacecraft during its 494 million km journey at an average speed of 121,000 kmph.

UAE spacecraft blasts off in first ever mission to Mars
 

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About EMM

The Emirates Mars Mission "Hope Probe" will be the first probe to provide a complete picture of the Martian atmosphere and its layers when it reaches the red planet’s orbit in 2021. It will help answer key questions about the global Martian atmosphere and the loss of hydrogen and oxygen gases into space over the span of one Martian year.

OBJECTIVES
  1. The First Complete Picture of the Martian Atmosphere.
  2. Understand climate dynamics and the global weather map through characterizing the lower atmosphere of Mars.
  3. Explain how the weather changes the escape of Hydrogen and Oxygen through correlating the lower atmosphere conditions with the upper atmosphere.
  4. Understand the structure and variability of Hydrogen and Oxygen in the upper atmosphere, as well as identifying why Mars is losing them into space.

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MISSION HIGHLIGHTS
NAMEEmirates Mars Mission
PROBE NAMEHope Probe
LAUNCH WINDOWJuly 15 – Aug 12, 2020
LAUNCH LOCATIONTanegashima Space Centre, Japan
CRUISING DISTANCE493.5 Million kms
MISSION DURATIONOne Martian Year (about 2 Earth years)

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WHY MARS?

WHY ARE WE EXPLORING MARS?
The red planet has captured human imagination for centuries. Now, we are at a junction where we know a great deal about the planet, and we have the vision and technology to explore further. Mars is an obvious target for exploration for many reasons. 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.

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Emirates Mars Mission Overview

The Emirates Mars Mission (EMM) is the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) first mission to Mars. EMM is designed to orbit Mars and study the dynamics in the Martian atmosphere on a global scale, and on both diurnal and seasonal timescales. Using three scientific instruments on board of the spacecraft, EMM will provide a set of measurements fundamental to an improved understanding of circulation and weather in the Martian lower and middle atmosphere. Combining such data with the monitoring of the upper layers of the atmosphere, EMM measurements will reveal the mechanisms behind the upward transport of energy and particles, and the subsequent escape of atmospheric particles from the gravity of Mars.
 

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SCIENCE


Historical Evolution
Images of the surface of Mars indicates evidence of a warmer, and wetter planet than what we see today. One of the culprits of the transformation of this planet into a dry, dusty one is climate change and atmospheric loss. Scientists around the world continue to study the historic evolution of Mars’ atmosphere, and the Emirates Mars Mission aims to provide data that will bridge our gap in understanding the present-day climate of Mars.

Mars’ First Weather Satellite
The Hope Probe will study the weather system of Mars, monitoring for the first-time weather changes throughout the day, across the planet, during all seasons. Simultaneously, Hope Probe will monitor the distribution of hydrogen and oxygen in the upper portions of Mars’ atmosphere (the exosphere). Hope Probe will also focus on better understanding the link between weather changes in Mars’ lower atmosphere, with loss of hydrogen and oxygen from the upper layers of the atmosphere. This for the first time will allow us to study the link between weather change and atmospheric loss, a process that may have been responsible for Mars’ transition, over billions of years, from a thick atmosphere capable of sustaining liquid water on the surface, to the cold, thin, arid atmosphere we see today.

The Hope Probe’s Instrument Suite
The Hope Probe will be able to study the atmosphere from a science orbit of 20,000 km periapsis and 43,000 km apoapsis, with an orbital period of 55 hours and orbital inclination of 25°. No other Mars spacecraft has had such an orbit; most orbit at a single local time that allows the atmosphere to be measured at only one time of day. Hope Probe carries a suite of three instruments which work simultaneously to observe key constituents within the atmosphere.

Emirates eXploration Imager (EXI)
EXI is a multi-wavelength imager capable of capturing 12 mega-pixel visible images of Mars. EXI also measures the distribution of water ice and ozone in the lower atmosphere utilizing the ultraviolet bands.

Emirates Mars Infrared Spectrometer (EMIRS)
EMIRS observes Mars in the infrared band measures the optical depth of dust, ice clouds and water vapor in the atmosphere. EMIRS also measures the temperature of the surface and the lower atmosphere of Mars.

Emirates Mars Ultraviolet Spectrometer (EMUS)
EMUS studies the upper atmosphere of Mars through the far ultraviolet wavelengths. It determines the distribution of carbon monoxide and oxygen in the thermosphere. EMUS also measures the distribution of oxygen and hydrogen in the exosphere of Mars.
 

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INSTRUMENTS

The Emirates Mars Mission “Hope Probe” is tasked to provide the first ever complete picture of the Martian atmosphere. Three stat-of-the-art science instruments have been designed to study the different aspects of the Martian Atmosphere.
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INFRARED
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Emirates Mars Infrared Spectrometer(EMIRS)
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HIGH RESOLUTION PHOTOS
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EMIRATES EXPLORATION IMAGER(EXI)
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ULTRA VIOLET
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EMIRATES MARS ULTRAVIOLET SPECTROMETER(EMUS)
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EMIRS
Emirates Mars Infrared Spectrometer
  • Studies the lower atmosphere of the red planet in the infrared band
  • Measures the global distribution of dust, ice clouds, water vapours, and temperature profiles
  • Provides the linkages from the lower to the upper atmosphere in conjunction with EMUS and EXI observations
The EMIRS instrument is an interferometric thermal infrared spectrometer that will give a better understanding of the energy balance in the current Martian climate by characterizing the state of the lower Martian atmosphere and the processes that are driving the global circulation.
Understanding the energy balance will help in identifying the sources and sinks of energy globally and how the lower atmosphere responds to solar forcing diurnally and seasonally. Specifically, the EMIRS instrument will look at the thermal state in the lower atmosphere, the geographical distribution of dust, water vapor and water ice, as well as the three-dimensional thermal structure of the Martian atmosphere and its variability on sub-seasonal timescales. The EMIRS instrument has a rotating mirror that will allow the instrument to do scans of Mars.
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EXI
EMIRATES EXPLORATION IMAGER
  • Studies the lower atmosphere of the red planet in visible and ultraviolet bands.
  • Captures high-resolution images of Mars
  • Measures the optical depth of water ice in the atmosphere
  • Measures the column abundance of ozone
  • Provides visible images of Mars during atmosphere
The EXI instrument is a multi-wavelength radiation tolerant camera, EXI is capable of taking 12-megapixel images while maintaining the radiometric calibration needed for detailed scientific analysis. The instrument is being developed jointly by the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) and Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC). The flexible readout modes allow customization of resolution, regions of interest and frame rate to meet the needs of the user and available memory and bandwidth. The lens system is a double lens assembly with a separate UV and VIS optical paths. The type of lens used is a double Gauss variant, a compound type lens used to provide low distortion high resolution imaging of Mars. The low focal ratio makes it possible to use very short exposure times to capture stable images during periapsis, while fitting both lens systems into a compact package. The image sensor is a 12-megapixel 12-bit monochrome CMOS array 4:3 imager. On-chip binning and region of interest windowing of the pixel array can be used to tailor image size and resolution as needed, minimizing the data rate. At full resolution, the sensor is capable of capturing 180 frames per second, enabling the possibility of 4K movie mode if desired. The use of discrete filters gives improved resolution in each colour compared with that using an RGB Bayer array. In addition, it provides more precise instrumental characterization, i.e., lower radiometric uncertainty of scientific imaging (needed for high accuracy retrievals of cloud optical depth). For the UV lens system, short-wavelength UV-C (245 – 275 nm) and long-wavelength UV-A (305 – 335 nm) will be cover ed. As for the VIS lens system, it will cover the bands; Red (625 – 645 nm), Green (506 - 586 nm) and Blue (405 – 469 nm).
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EMUS
EMIRATES MARS ULTRAVIOLET SPECTROMETER
  • Detects ultraviolet wavelength
  • Determines the abundance and variability of carbon monoxide and oxygen in the thermosphere on sub-seasonal timescales
  • Calculates the three-dimensional structure and variability of oxygen and hydrogen in the exosphere
  • Measures the relative changes in the thermosphere
The EMUS instrument is a far ultraviolet spectrometer that is jointly developed by the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) and Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC). The instrument is designed to fulfil two out of the four EMM investigations (investigation 3 and 4) which relate to thermospheric (100-200 km altitude) and exospheric (> 200 km altitude) variability, respectively. EMUS will have a spatial resolution of 0.36o, selectable spectral resolution of 1.3 nm and 1.8 nm and a spectral range of 100 – 170 nm to make the required observations of ultraviolet emissions of hydrogen (H), oxygen (O), and carbon monoxide (CO). The spectral resolutions are chosen in order to distinguish between the emissions of interest from other bright emissions (specifically oxygen emission at 135.6 nm from 130.4 nm) and to resolve CO emissions.
 

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LAUNCH VEHICLE

The Hope Probe will be launched into space from the Tanegashima Space Centre in Japan aboard an H2A202 rocket, which is part of the H-IIA launch vehicle family. The H-IIA Launch Vehicle is a high-performance rocket developed and operated by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries provides all the services related to the spacecraft launch including launch vehicle manufacturing, interface coordination, and launch operations at the Tanegashima Space Centre. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) takes care of flight safety, range safety and launch site facility.
The launch vehicle consists of a first stage, second stage, fairing, and a pair of Solid Rocket Boosters (SRB-As). The propulsion system of the launch vehicle uses liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen.
First Stage
The first stage of the H-IIA rocket system is made up of a high-performance LE-7A engine, an engine section, a propulsion system tank charged with liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen, a centre section connecting the tanks, and an inter-stage section connecting the first and second stages.
Solid Rocket Booster (SRB-A)
The Solid Rocket Boosters (SRB-A) supplement the total thrust by firing for approximately 100 seconds from liftoff. The two Solid Rocket Boosters are attached to the first stage.
Second Stage
The second stage comprises a LE-5B engine, a propulsion system tank that is charged with liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen and on-board electronic devices. The LE-5B engine in the second stage can be fired up to three times.
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The second stage comprises a LE-5B engine, a propulsion system tank that is charged with liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen and on-board electronic devices. The LE-5B engine in the second stage can be fired up to three times.
 

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UAE's Hope probe completes crucial step to reach Mars' orbit
Hope, the first interplanetary mission of the Arab world, blasted off from Japan's Tanegashima Space Centre on July 20.

August 18, 2020
The UAE's Hope probe has fired its thrusters for the first time, directly targeting its Mars capture orbit and crossing a major milestone in its seven-month journey to the Red Planet, the Emirates Mars Mission (EMM) announced on Monday.

The spacecraft successfully completed TCM1 - its first trajectory correction manoeuvre (TCM), a crucial process in keeping Hope on the right direction towards Mars.

"TCM1 was a major milestone for us, not only because it is the first time we have deployed the spacecraft's Delta-V thruster but also because it defines our path to cruise Mars," said Omran Sharaf, project director of EMM.

Hope, the first interplanetary mission of the Arab world, blasted off from Japan's Tanegashima Space Centre on July 20. And since then, it has been on an 'outstandingly accurate trajectory', exceeding the expectations of the EMM team.

"Hope is now on target to reach its Mars Orbit Insertion (MOI), requiring less adjustment to its course than we had originally planned," Sharaf said.

How the manoeuvre works

When a spacecraft is sent to space, some deviations in its path are expected. Constraints, which are part of planetary protection protocols, also prevent it from following its desired path at the start of a mission, as tests confirm that it is performing well.

For these reasons, trajectory control manoeuvres are performed during the flight.

Hope is expected to make around seven TCMs in its 493-million-kilometre journey to Mars. And it is set to enter the Red Planet's orbit in February 2021.

Aiming to build the first full picture of the Martian climate, Hope carries three instruments to measure the planet's atmosphere and gather some data that no other mission had provided before.

For the first time, scientists in over 200 universities and research institutes globally will have access to a holistic view of the Martian atmosphere at different times of the day, through different seasons. This study, experts said, will help the world compare and understand Earth's climate better.

The Emirates Mars Mission is part of a long-term integrated effort to create economic opportunity around leadership in space sciences, research and exploration.

 
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