What the UAE's Mars Hope Probe Mission means for the region, the world: Interview with Nasa space scientist Dr Farouk El Baz

Dr. Farouk El-Baz, the Egyptian American space scientist and geologist who worked with NASA in the scientific exploration of the Moon and the planning of the Apollo programme, is Research Professor and Director of the Center for Remote Sensing at Boston University.

In this interview with Gulf News, via email, the remote sensing guru shares his excitement and optimism about the UAE Mars Mission and Hope Probe.

What's the significance of the UAE Mars Mission and Hope Probe to the Middle East Region?

All news from the Middle East during the past few decades have been demoralising, particularly for younger generations.

This was due to bad education and lacking job opportunities. Thus, the youth in the Arab world have seen nothing to strengthen their love for their countries or respect for their leaders. Thus, the visionary name “Hope” is ideal for encouraging a positive attitude of the youth in the future.

Why is it important to explore Mars?

Mars is the closest planet to the Earth. In its nature, it is the only planet in the solar system that shows many similarities to ours. It has an atmosphere that may have been originally similar to that of the Earth. It has now lost much of its components with time.

It also hosted oceans before some of its water escaped into space and some disappeared as ice beneath its surface. Mars also had volcanoes and its surface shows many canyons. In many ways it can be called “earth’s sister.”

Do you agree that this mission would lead to a more competitive economy for the Arab world  

I believe that the Hope Probe will have a major impact on the “Arab mind.” Thus, I believe that it will play a major part in reviving the intellectual energy of most populations.

This will be most evident in the Arabian Gulf region, where some elements of “competition” exists among its leadership. This in would increase competition in economic growth and better representation on the world stage of economic power.

Beyond the Arab region, what are the implications for the wider space sciences of this probe?

Actually, several international scientific groups of researchers in Europe and the Far East have already communicated interest in joining the efforts of scientific data analysis.

As it is natural in all space probes from the US or Europe, international scientists are usually allowed to join the data analysis endeavor by submitting proposals for novel research methodologies or approaches. So, it will be the same in the case of then Hope Probe data.

As a space scientist, what is the most important takeaway from this UAE Mars Probe?

To me, personally, I wish to learn more about the Martian winds in creating sand and dust storms. Most of my scientific research papers on Mars dealt with comparison of its features to those of Earth’s deserts.

This one, done with particular emphasis on features of the Western Deserts of Egypt that I have studied in great detail over several decades.

The Hope Probe will stay in upper layer of the Martian atmosphere. Thus, I am looking forward to data on how dust storms reach those heights.

On one of the US Mariner missions to Mars in the 1970s, winds carried surface dust to completely cover the surface of Mars and we could not see any surface features for a couple pf weeks.

Then, slowly the great volcano of Olympus Mons began to show through the thick dust, which slowly settled to reveal the surface features, to be photographed by then Mariner cameras from orbit.

You gave the astronauts of the Apollo 16 team a statement by Rene Descartes: 'There is nothing so far removed from us to be beyond our reach, or so far hidden that we cannot discover it.'

I would certainly repeat that statement onboard the Hope Probe – in Arabic – as it would encourage the youth of the Arab World to begin dreaming of what would have been impossible just a decade ago.