![\"UAE-Hope-probe-to-be-first-in-trio-of-Mars-missions-rapid-news-rapidnews-dailyrapidnews\"](\"https:\/\/dailyrapidnews.com\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/UAE-Hope-probe-to-be-first-in-trio-of-Mars-missions-rapid-news-rapidnews-dailyrapidnews.jpg\")
<\/p>\nThe first Arab space mission, the UAE\u2019s \u201cHope\u201d probe, is expected to reach Mars\u2019 orbit on Tuesday, making it the first of three spacecraft to arrive at the Red Planet this month.<\/p>\n
The United Arab Emirates, China and the US all launched projects to Mars last July, taking advantage of a period when the Earth and Mars are nearest.<\/p>\n
If succesful, the wealthy Gulf state will become the fifth nation to ever reach Mars \u2014 a venture timed to mark the 50th anniversary of the unification of the UAE \u2014 with the China mission due to become the sixth the following day.<\/p>\n
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Landmarks across the UAE have been lit up in red at night, government accounts emblazoned with the #ArabstoMars hashtag, and on the big day Dubai\u2019s Burj Khalifa, the world\u2019s tallest tower, will be at the center of a celebratory show.<\/p>\n
\u201cHope,\u201d known as \u201cAl-Amal\u201d in Arabic, will orbit the planet for at least one Martian year, or 687 days, while the Tianwen-1 from China and the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover from the US will both land on Mars\u2019 surface.<\/p>\n
Only the US, India, the former Soviet Union and the European Space Agency have successfully reached the Red Planet in the past.<\/p>\n
After blasting off from Japan last July, the Hope mission now faces its \u201cmost critical and complex\u201d maneuver, according to Emirati officials, with a 50-50 chance of successfully entering a Mars orbit.<\/p>\n
![\"UAE-Hope-probe-to-be-first-in-trio-of-Mars-missions-rapid-news-rapidnews\"](\"https:\/\/dailyrapidnews.com\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/UAE-Hope-probe-to-be-first-in-trio-of-Mars-missions-rapid-news-rapidnews.jpg\")
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The spacecraft must slow significantly to be captured by Martian gravity, rotating and firing all six of its Delta-V thrusters for 27 minutes to reduce its cruising speed of 121,000 km per hour to about 18,000 kph.<\/p>\n
The process, which will consume half of its fuel, will begin on Tuesday and it will take 11 minutes for a signal on its progress to reach ground control.<\/p>\n
Omran Sharaf, the UAE mission\u2019s project manager, said it was a \u201chuge honor\u201d to be the first of this year\u2019s missions to reach Mars.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is humbling to be in such auspicious and skilled company as we all embark on our missions,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was never a race for us. We approach space as a collaborative and inclusive effort.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The first Arab space mission, the UAE\u2019s \u201cHope\u201d probe, is expected to reach Mars\u2019 orbit<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4143,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4139","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n