Read more about UAE makes history as Hope spacecraft successfully enters Mars orbit on Business Standard. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) made history as its first-ever interplanetary Hope Probe mission successfully entered orbit around Mars on Tuesday
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Tuesday made history as the first Arab nation to reach Mars, seven months after the Emirati-built "Hope Probe" was launched from Tanegashima in Japan.
"204 days and more than 480 million kms later, the Hope Probe is now in the Capture Orbit of Mars,” the official
Two countries sent their first spacecraft to Mars this week – China and the United Arab Emirates. Both countries celebrated successfully reaching Martian orbit.
File picture In an historic day for the nation, the UAE’s Hope Probe Mars Mission is due to enter the Red Planet’s orbit, with the manoeuvre starting from 7:30 pm UAE time.
The Probe has to slow down in a highly complex procedure called the Mars Orbit Insertion (MOI) to achieve entry.
The MOI will last an uninterrupted 27 minutes. Nearly half of the fuel will be spent to slow the Hope Probe down enough to capture Mars’ orbit.
During this time, the speed of the spacecraft will decelerate from its cruising speed of 121,000 kmph down to 18,000 kmph.
The Hope Probe approaches Mars with such a velocity that it will slingshot around it and continue into deep space if it hasn t slowed down to the level where it can be captured by the planet s gravity.