UAE Hope Mars mission: 30 minutes from darkness to light

The UAE’s Mars spacecraft had slunk into the shadows behind the planet and was in autonomous mode at 7.42pm. It was clear that the control center was not in command during this ‘dark phase’ that was programmed in advance here on Earth.

Omran Sharaf, Project Manager of the Emirates Mars Mission and his team in the centre kept their nerve through the tense silence. The young Emirati refused to take a seat as he stared and did not give the game away. Some words were best unspoken while the spacecraft flirted with the Martian orbit.

The hush was unnerving as Hope descended into the Red Planet’s dark embrace, quickly at first, then slowing down as it burnt up fuel. Minutes ticked away in what seemed like eternity during the critical manoeuvre that had to be done at 18,000km an hour.

Monitors in the room flashed. Omran watched them intently and then exchanged words with a colleague. He watched the screen again but quickly turned his gaze away. Sighs escaped some lips, stomachs churned. The young project leader’s deadpan expression didn’t say much during the first 15 minutes as the nation waited, hoping and praying for this endless spell to pass.

A signal from the UAE satellite was awaited and a station in Madrid, Spain would get it first after 11 minutes and relay it to the control centre in Dubai. Omran was the man of the hour, his eye on the clock this time. He watched, waited, and again looked straight. Standing tall and calm came naturally to him.

Ten minutes to go. Minister Sarah Al Amiri made the announcement that all systems were functioning normally. A sigh of relief descended on the crowd waiting outside. The camera panned back to the control room where Omran was playing patience with his team.

He looked stern, his demeanor giving nothing away and calmly looked down at his monitor.

Was that a smile? The signal! It blinked! Hope had done it in style, with precision, on time.

Omran strode confidently to the microphone like an expert. He was in control of Hope again. “Allah be praised, Allah be praised, Allah be praised,” he said. The team clapped in controlled excitement.

Thirty minutes of darkness that held a nation in its grip had finally turned to light.

allan@khaleejtimes.com