Hope Probe: UAE, China to celebrate Mars missions together, says envoy

Beijing - New era of space exploration can be considered a new economy, Dr. Ali Obaid Al Dhaheri says.

The UAE Ambassador to China has said that both countries will be entering into the Chinese New Year with much optimism as their respective Mars missions achieve success.

Dr. Ali Obaid Al Dhaheri, UAE Ambassador to China, stated, "Spring Festival upon us as we enter into the Chinese New Year, many of us are looking with hope to the future. It is apt that at the cusp of this new year, there is optimism on the horizon, with both the UAE and China achieving respective arrivals to the orbit of Mars."

In an Op-Ed in the China Daily, Dr. Al Dhaheri said that, "Mars missions from our two nations will arrive within one day of the other – the UAE's on February 9th and China's on February 10th. By the time Spring Festival rolls in, both of our nations will be united in celebration.

He added that in the UAE's case, the Mars mission is called the Hope Probe and after "the challenges that have stretched every aspect of our lives, we will indeed look with great hope to this new Chinese year so full of promise."

Following is the Op-Ed in full text, "The Hope Probe will spend nearly two years surveying the planet's atmosphere to study daily changes in Martian weather. It puts the UAE on track to be the first Arab nation to deploy an interplanetary probe and join an exclusive group of spacefaring countries that have done the same.

"China's Mars Mission, Tianwen-1, a five-tonne spacecraft, will burn its engines to slow the vehicle down enough to be captured by Mars' gravitational pull. The rover will land on the surface at a later date in two to three months.