UAE launching “Hope” mission to Mars

In the first planetary mission by any Arab country, the UAE’s Hope probe will study the atmosphere of Mars and explore why it loses hydrogen and oxygen gases into space


H-IIA LAUNCH VEHICLE (Japan) 

Payload Fairing
Stores probe

Second stage
Liquid hydrogen tank

Second stage
Liquid oxygen tank

First stage
Liquid oxygen tank

First stage
Liquid hydrogen tank

Solid rocket booster 
510,000- lbs of thrust

Moveable nozzle

LE-7A engine
247,000-lbs of thrust

FIRST STAGE
SECOND STAGE
53m


HOPE SPACECRAFT

Solar panels
Generate 1800 watts of electricity

High gain antenna
Communicates with Earth

Weight
1,350kg

EMUS
EMIRS
EXI
Three instruments mounted on one side of craft will image Mars in visible, thermal, infrared and ultraviolet wavelengths

EMUS (Emirates Mars Ultraviolet Spectrometer)
EMIRS (Emirates Mars InfraRed Spectrometer)
EXI (Emirates eXploration Imager)


JOURNEY TO MARS

Launch speed: 34,082km/h

Arrival time: Feb 2021

Cruising distance: 493.5m km

Earth and Mars at launch

Mars orbits Sun every 687 Earth days

Earth and Mars at arrival
Planet distances not shown to scale


THREE WEEK LAUNCH WINDOW

Mars missions must launch when Earth and Mars are in optimum alignment for brief period every 26 months. Window opens Jul 14, 2020

JUL 							AUG 
13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 1 2 3 4 5


Apr 20: Hope transported to launch site in 83-hour journey

Antonov An-124 cargo plane

Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre Dubai
UAE

CHINA

Nagoya
JAPAN

Ship to Tanegashima Island

1,000km 600 miles


Tanegashima Space Center

Vehicle assembly building

Launch pad

200m 650ft 


Sources: Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC), Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, ESA, Spaceflight Now, Space.com 
Pictures: MBRSC, Apple Maps 
© GRAPHIC NEWS