UAE leaders meet Hope Probe team at Qasr Al Watan

Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid said on Twitter, “On the day of Eid, and in the presence of my brother Mohammed Bin Zayed, we received the team of the Hope Probe. The sons of the nation are the most important achievements of this country and with their achievements we are proud,”.

Present at the event were Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Executive Council, Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Minister of Finance, Sheikh Saif Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Khalid Bin Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Member of the Executive Council and Chairman of Abu Dhabi Executive Office, Sheikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan Minister of Tolerance and Coexistence, and members of UAE Cabinet.

Sheikh Mohammed expressed pride over this breakthrough achieved by the Emiratis. He praised Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed for his keenness to honour the team while celebrating Eid Al Adha.

“I would like to thank my brother and friend Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed who added a new flavour to this Eid’s celebrations, making it an occasion to celebrate the success of our dedicated hard-working Emiratis.”

'Time to celebrate'

“After every hard journey, there is a break. After every achievement, there is time to celebrate. Today is a day of joy over this great Emirati achievement, the Mars Hope Probe. Today is a day of celebration for the team and the people of the UAE. A day where we thank you for your efforts that continued for six years,” Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid continued.

“To the mission team, I say a great journey has begun. The purpose of this journey is to make the UAE the best country in the world. I am very optimistic and positive about our future because, in the UAE, we do what we say and we say what we do,” he added.

Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed extended the greetings of President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan to the Probe team, Their Highnesses Supreme Council Members and Rulers of the Emirates, and the people of the UAE on the occasion of Eid Al Adha.

He also wished further happiness and success for Emiratis on the occasion.

Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed said, “The successful launch of the Hope Probe is a cultural achievement, which mirrors the leadership of the UAE and its potential to enhance the role of Arabs in astronomy and space sectors.”

He also greeted Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid, stressing that, “He is a symbol of strong will and leadership that does not know impossible as well as a source of permanent aspiration that always looks for the first position in various fields.”

'Honourable model'

Addressing the Hope Probe team, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed said, “We are proud of you, as you are an honourable model for Emirati youth, which we want to be the best, most knowledgeable, developed and qualified. You have presented a positive image of Emirati and Arab youth to the world. You and other national cadres in all the sectors are our real and winning bet for the future.”

He added, “The successes achieved by the Emirati space project, and other qualitative development projects, emphasise that we, under the leadership of President Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed, are on the right path to accomplishing sustainable development, and difficulties do not stop us, but rather stimulate the spirit of challenge, and motivated us to further development.”

Each member of the team received a personalised “Thank You” message signed by Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid and Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed, as well as a plaque with the signatures of the two leaders, in recognition of their role in this Emirati and Arab achievement.

A video detailing the Emirates Mars Mission journey, launched under the directives of Sheikh Khalifa, and the support of Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid and Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed was shown.

Mission details

Hope Probe, the first Arab interplanetary mission blasted into the sky on July20, at 1:58 am UAE time, beginning its epic journey to Mars.

It lifted off from Japan’s Tanegashima Space Centre and in nearly 200 days from now, it will reach Mars orbit and begin its mission to study the Red Planet’s atmosphere.

Once it enters Mars’ orbit in the first quarter of 2021, the Hope Probe will mark the UAE’s 50th anniversary. It will travel 493 million kilometres into space in a journey that will take seven months and will orbit the Red Planet for one full Martian year of 687 days to provide the first truly global picture of the Martian atmosphere.

It will be the first to study the Martian climate throughout daily and seasonal cycles. It will observe the weather phenomena in Mars such as the massive dust storms that have been known to engulf the Red Planet, as compared to the short and localised dust storms on earth.

Exploring connections between today’s Martian weather and the ancient climate of the Red Planet will give deeper insights into the past and the future of Earth and the potential of life on Mars and other distant planets.

The Probe will gather and send back new Mars data to the Science Data Centre in the UAE via different ground stations around the world. The data will be catalogued and analysed by the Emirates Mars Mission science team and shared for free with the international Mars science community as a service to humanity.

Other achievements of the Emirates Mars Mission team, included the development of 200 new designs, manufacturing of 66 pieces of the Probe components in the UAE, publishing 51 research papers on the project, in addition to benefitting over 60,000 participants through the Mission’s scientific and academic programmes.