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UAE Hope Probe reaches Mars: Here's what it will do

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Photo: Reuters

Photo: Reuters

Dubai - Scientists hope that understanding the climate changes of Mars will help them find solutions for key challenges facing mankind on earth.

Published: Tue 9 Feb 2021, 10:24 PM

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Now that the UAE's Hope Probe has successfully surmounted the most crucial phase of its mission since its last last July, the jubilant nation is already turning its focus to the future.

The core mission will involve capturing more than 1TB of new data from now until April 2023, the findings of which will be freely shared with 200 scientific and educational institutions around the world.

Through closely studying the connection between current Martian weather and the climate of the Red Planet, scientists are hoping to gain deeper insights into the past and future of the Earth — as well as the potential for human life on Mars as well as other planetary objects.

The idea is that understanding the geographical and climate changes of Mars will help us gain deeper insights to find solutions for key challenges facing mankind on earth.

What will the probe study?

The Hope probe is expected to provide the first-ever complete picture of the Martian atmosphere. It will do this by monitoring weather changes throughout the day during all seasons — something no other mission to the Red Planet has done to date.

One example of weather phenomena in Mars that the UAE hopes to study are the famous, massive dust storms that have been known to engulf the Red Planet — as compared to the short and localised dust storms on earth.

It will also focus on better understanding the link between weather changes in Mars’ lower atmosphere, with the loss of hydrogen and oxygen from the upper layers of the atmosphere.

The probe, for the first time, will study the link between weather change and atmospheric loss, a process that may have caused the Red Planet’s surface corrosion and the loss of its upper atmosphere.

Exploring connections between today’s Martian weather and the ancient climate of the Red Planet will give deeper insights into the past and future of Earth and the potential of life on Mars and other distant planets.



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