To celebrate the UAE’s Hope Probe reaching the Mars orbit on Tuesday, Expo 2020 Dubai will use its cutting-edge projection and display technology to illuminate Al Wasl dome in a rich red hue.
As the UAE’s first mission to Mars enters the Red Planet’s orbit, one of the largest 360-degree projection surfaces in the world will be lit by more than 250 laser projectors.
Reem Al Hashimy, UAE Minister of State for International Cooperation and director general, Expo 2020 Dubai said: “The Emirates Mars Mission is a true testament of our nation’s ambitious and tenacious spirit and a moment of significant pride not only for the UAE, but for our entire region as the first interplanetary mission from the Arab World.
“Just as this historic moment serves as a beacon of hope and inspiration, so will Expo 2020 Dubai bring people, communities and nations together to celebrate human innovation, imagination and ingenuity, when the first World Expo to be hosted in the MEASA region welcomes the world in the UAE’s Golden Jubilee year.”
Expo 2020 will run from October 1 to March 31 2022.
Last week, Sarah Al Amiri, Minister of State for Advanced Technology and chairperson of the UAE Space Agency, outlined the final stages of the Hope Probe’s journey, leading up to its expected arrival to the Red Planet’s orbit on February 9 at 7.42pm UAE time.
The arrival to Mars will make the UAE the fifth nation in the world to reach the Red Planet after the United States, Soviet Union, China, the European Space Agency and India, and the third to make the feat from the first attempt.
The Hope Probe’s complex manoeuvre on February 9 will be the most critical part of the mission that will see the spacecraft rapidly reducing its speed from 121,000km/h to 18,000km/h to enter Mars’ orbit.
Upon arriving to Mars after travelling 493 million kilometres in a seven-month journey since its launch on July 20 from Tanegashima Island in Japan, the probe will provide the first-ever complete picture of the Martian atmosphere.
The unmanned spacecraft will explore the climactic dynamics of the Red Planet in daily and seasonal timescales for a full Martian year (687 earth days).
The probe will gather and send back 1,000 GB of new Mars data to the Science Data Centre in the UAE via different ground stations spread around the world.
The unmanned spacecraft will explore the climactic dynamics of the Red Planet
The Hope Probe started as an idea in a cabinet retreat that took place in Sir Baniyas Island in Abu Dhabi at the end of 2013.
The Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre, established in 2015, was tasked with the execution and supervision of all stages of the design, development, and the launch of the Hope Probe, while the UAE Space Agency funded and supervised necessary procedures for the implementation.
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