Hope Probe enters final stage of journey to Mars

Mission enters the ultimate phase of its sojourn; Hope Probe will enter Mars’ orbit at 7.57pm UAE time on Feb.9; landmarks in the region’s countries are also turning red to mark the occasion.

The Emirates Mars Mission, the first interplanetary exploration undertaken by an Arab nation, on Saturday announced it will enter Mars’ orbit at 7.57 pm GST on Feb.9, 2021.

After successfully completing its 7-month cruise to Mars, the Emirates Mars Mission’s Hope Probe is days away from the most critical part of its historic voyage to the Red Planet – the critical manoeuvre that will define the success or failure of the mission to place its orbiter, the Hope Probe, into Mars orbit.

The Hope Probe’s historic journey to the Red Planet coincides with a year of celebrations to mark the UAE’s Golden Jubilee.

The Mars Orbital Insertion (MOI) manoeuvre involves reversing the spacecraft and firing the Hope Probe’s six Delta-V thrusters in a 27-minute deceleration ‘burn’ to rapidly slow the speed of the spacecraft from 121,000 km/h to 18,000 km/h, and will see the Operations Team confirming whether the Probe has achieved a stable capture orbit around Mars.