Final checks under way ahead of UAE's mission to Mars


Sarwat Nasir
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The UAE is a step closer to becoming the first Arab nation to reach the Red Planet.

Engineers said the Hope probe was undergoing final checks at its launch site on Tanegashima Island, Japan, but that all systems were "go".

Sarah Al Amiri, president of the UAE Space Agency and deputy project manager of the Emirates Mars Mission, said July 15 continued to be the expected launch date.

“The spacecraft is ready for launch and all of the systems are now at a level that is ready to be launched,” she told a media briefing.

“We also checked the ground segment and the operations in mission control and they are ready to accept the spacecraft after launch.

“The final checks are currently ongoing on both the launch vehicle and mission control. We are ready to launch as scheduled early in the morning on July 15.”

The Hope probe is designed to study the upper and lower atmosphere of Mars and will take seven to nine months to reach the Red Planet.

It was built by a team of 150 Emirati engineers, scientists and researchers, working alongside three US universities.

The probe will be propelled into space by a Japanese-built rocket system called the H-IIA, capable of speeds of more than 34,000kph. The spacecraft will separate from the rocket about an hour after lift-off.

The Hope spacecraft is placed into the payload support structure. Courtesy: Emirates Mars Mission
The Hope spacecraft is placed into the payload support structure. Courtesy: Emirates Mars Mission

Once out of Earth’s gravity, Hope will make its journey towards Mars, travelling 493.5 million kilometres. As it reaches Mars's orbit, it will slow from around 121,000kph to 18,000kph.

From there its infrared spectrometer will begin to measure the distribution of dust, ice clouds and water vapour while a sophisticated on board camera takes high-resolution images of the planet.

An ultraviolet spectrometer will also study the upper atmosphere and record traces of oxygen and hydrogen.

Other spacecraft launched to explore Mars in recent years include Nasa's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter in 2005 and the Trace Gas Orbiter, a joint project by Russia's space agency and the European Space Agency that was launched in 2016.

The UAE’s Hope probe will be placed in a much higher orbit than previous craft, however, allowing it to capture broader images. Scientists calculate it will be able to make a full circle of Mars every 55 hours.

Despite the recent wet weather in Japan in recent weeks, the project's engineers remain confident the launch will take place on schedule.

Inside Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre:

Key findings of Jenkins report
  • Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
  • Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
  • Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
  • Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
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The biog

Alwyn Stephen says much of his success is a result of taking an educated chance on business decisions.

His advice to anyone starting out in business is to have no fear as life is about taking on challenges.

“If you have the ambition and dream of something, follow that dream, be positive, determined and set goals.

"Nothing and no-one can stop you from succeeding with the right work application, and a little bit of luck along the way.”

Mr Stephen sells his luxury fragrances at selected perfumeries around the UAE, including the House of Niche Boutique in Al Seef.

He relaxes by spending time with his family at home, and enjoying his wife’s India cooking. 

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How Voiss turns words to speech

The device has a screen reader or software that monitors what happens on the screen

The screen reader sends the text to the speech synthesiser

This converts to audio whatever it receives from screen reader, so the person can hear what is happening on the screen

A VOISS computer costs between $200 and $250 depending on memory card capacity that ranges from 32GB to 128GB

The speech synthesisers VOISS develops are free

Subsequent computer versions will include improvements such as wireless keyboards

Arabic voice in affordable talking computer to be added next year to English, Portuguese, and Spanish synthesiser

Partnerships planned during Expo 2020 Dubai to add more languages

At least 2.2 billion people globally have a vision impairment or blindness

More than 90 per cent live in developing countries

The Long-term aim of VOISS to reach the technology to people in poor countries with workshops that teach them to build their own device

Key developments

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Dust and sand storms compared

Sand storm

  • Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
  • Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
  • Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
  • Travel distance: Limited 
  • Source: Open desert areas with strong winds

Dust storm

  • Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
  • Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
  • Duration: Can linger for days
  • Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
  • Source: Can be carried from distant regions
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