MISSION HOPE: UNITED ARAB EMIRATES SPACECRAFT ENTERS ORBIT AROUND MARS

• Be N By IAS, Delhi
• 09, Feb 2021

For: GS-3: Science & Technology

CONTEXT:

• A spacecraft from the United Arab Emirates swung into orbit around Mars on Tuesday in a triumph for the Arab world's first interplanetary mission.

NEWS IN DETAILS:

• Unmanned craft, called Amal, Arabic for Hope, had reached the end of its nearly seven-month, 300-million-mile journey and had begun circling the red planet, where it will gather detailed data on Mars’ atmosphere.
• To a standing ovation, a visibly relieved Omran Sharaf, the mission’s director, declared, “To the people of the UAE and Arab and Islamic nations, we announce the success of the UAE reaching Mars.”
• League of five space agencies: Amal’s arrival puts the UAE in a league of just five space agencies in history that have pulled off a functioning Mars mission.
• About 60% of all Mars missions have ended in failure, crashing, burning up or otherwise falling short in a testament to the complexity of interplanetary travel and the difficulty of making a descent through Mars’ thin atmosphere.

OTHER MISSION IN PIPELINE:

• Two more in row: Unmanned spacecraft from the U.S. and China are following close behind, set to arrive at Mars over the next several days.
  • All three missions were launched in July.
  • Why: To take advantage of the close alignment of Earth and Mars.
• USA’s Perseverance: A rover from the U.S. named Perseverance is set to join the crowd next week, aiming for a landing Feb. 18.
  • Aim: To bring Mars rocks back to Earth to examine microscopic life.
• China: A combination orbiter and lander from China is scheduled to reach the planet on Wednesday.
  • Aim: To look for signs of ancient life.
• If it pulls this off, China will become only the second country to land successfully on Mars. The U.S. has done it eight times, the first almost 45 years ago. A NASA rover and lander are still working on the surface.

UAE’S HOPE MISSION TO MARS:

It is the first interplanetary mission for the Arab World.
It is a Mars orbiter spacecraft, which will study the thin atmosphere of Mars.
Announced: In 2015
Launched: In 2016
It was launched from Tanegashima Island in Japan.
Aim: Creating mankind’s first integrated model of the Red planet’s (Mars) atmosphere.
Commemorate: To reach Mars in February 2021 (50th anniversary of UAE’s founding).
Cost: USD 200 million
Three Scientific Instruments attached:

1. Emirates eXploration Imager (EXI): A high-resolution camera.
2. Emirates Mars Ultraviolet Spectrometer (EMUS): A far-UV imaging spectrograph.
3. Emirates Mars InfraRed Spectrometer (EMIRS): It will examine temperature profiles, ice, water vapor and dust in the atmosphere of Mars.

MCQs:

Q. Which of the following statements is/are correct regarding Mission Hope of UAE?

1. It is the first interplanetary mission for the Arab World.
2. It was launched from Japan.
3. It is a Lunar orbiter spacecraft, which will study the thin atmosphere of Lunar.

Select the correct answer using the code below.

• a) 1 and 2 Only
• b) 2 and 3 only
• c) 1 only
• d) 1, 2 and 3

ANS: A