Future technology at the World Government Summit 2016
The UAE Mars Mission engineering team took to the stage at the World Government Summit 2016 held in Dubai. The goal of the project is to attempt to provide a “truly global picture” of the Martian atmosphere.
The Mars Hope unmanned probe is scheduled to be launched in July 2020 with the aim of reaching Mars by 2021.
"Our science mission is to produce the first ever truly global picture of the Martian atmosphere. This is the first holistic study of the Martian climate and how the layers of atmosphere fit together," said Omran Sharaf, Emirates Mars Mission project manager.
The Emirates Mars Mission orbiter’s arrival date of 2021 is no coincidence, the date itself will mark the 50th anniversary of the founding of the UAE.
According to the project engineers, the rocket must blast off from Earth during a brief launch window in July 2020 – the Earth and Mars orbit the Sun at different rates and are aligned at their closest point only once every two years.
If any part of the mission is not ready in time or fails at the last minute, there may be no second chance.