Latest: History made as Hope probe successfully enters Mars orbit
Airline passengers arriving in UAE will receive a special stamp to mark the country's mission to Mars.
The ink for the stamp was created from the same type of volcanic rock found on the Red Planet's barren surface.
In the hours before the Hope space probe orbits Mars, Dubai Airports and the UAE Government Media Office released pictures of how the stamp was made.
Tuesday night's mission follows the successful blast-off from Japan in July and a seven-month, 493.5-million-kilometre journey through space.
Officials have stressed that the mission has a 50 per cent chance of success, but are hopeful that the country will make history.
Basalt rocks are found both on Mars and on Earth in certain parts of the world. One of those locations is the UAE's Hajar mountains and Sharjah’s Mleiha Desert.
To create the liquid to print the stamps, these rocks were crushed into a fine paste and dried in the sun.
They were mixed with chemicals to create three separate colours that represent the Red Planet.
Basalt rocks date back tens of millions of years and give the UAE’s mountain ranges their distinct rugged look.
If the Hope probe is successful, it will begin to capture and transmit the first photo of Mars within a week.
It will then commence its mission to build the first complete picture of the Martian atmosphere using its three advanced scientific instruments.
The tools will continue to relay data of the Red Planet’s atmosphere for one Martian year, equivalent to 687 Earth days.
Hope is a type of weather and climate satellite for Mars.
It will study how energy moves through the atmosphere throughout the seasons of the year.
It will further examine dust that influences the planet's temperature, and it will examine atoms of hydrogen and oxygen at the top of the atmosphere, which could give clues as to why Mars is now missing the water that it once had.
Hope is expected to collect more than 1,000GB of new data, which will be shared with more than 200 academic and scientific institutions around the world.
Hope probe to Mars - the journey so far
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Hope probe captures an image of Mars after clocking one million kilometres since its launch into space on July 20, 2020. Courtesy: Sheikh Mohammed Twitter -
An image beamed back from the UAE's Hope probe on December 7 showing Saturn and Jupiter in close proximity to each other. Courtesy: Hope probe / MBR Space Centre -
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid shares an image of Mars taken by the Hope Probe on December 3, 2020. Courtesy: Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid / Twitter -
Media and officials at Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre in Dubai cheer as the Hope probe is blasted into space from Japan on July 20, 2020. Ahmed Jadallah / Reuters -
At the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre headquarters in Al Khawaneej, where Emirati engineers monitor Hope's journey to Mars, on July 27, 2020. Antonie Robertson / The National -
Sheikh Mohamed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, and Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohamed, Crown Prince of Dubai, stand for a photograph with the Hope Probe team, during an honouring ceremony at Qasr Al Watan on July 31, 2020. Hamad Al Kaabi / Ministry of Presidential Affairs -
Fatima Al Bannai (on stage - centre right) and Saeed Al Gergawi (on stage - centre left) present during a ceremony to honour the Hope probe team, at Qasr Al Watan, on July 31, 2020. Courtesy: Hamad Al Mansoori for the Ministry of Presidential Affairs -
The Red Planet, where the Hope probe arrives on February 9 for an orbit insertion attempt. Getty -
Sarah Al Amiri, Minister of State for Advanced Sciences and chairwoman of the UAE Space Agency, briefs Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, and Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, on the Hope probe mission on February 1. Courtesy: Sheikh Mohamed bin Rashid / Twitter -
A billboard on Al Khail Road advertises the UAE Mars Mission. Chris Whiteoak / The National -
Burj Khalifa lights up for the Hope probe on February 6, 2021. Giuseppe Cacace / AFP -
Zakareyya Al Shamsi, deputy manager of mission operation, at Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre in Al Khawaneej, Dubai, on February 2, 2021. Antonie Robertson / The National -
The Hope Probe will attempt a Mars orbit insertion on Tuesday, February 9. Courtesy: Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid / Twitter -
Sheikh Mohammed is briefed by the Hope probe team at the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre headquarters on February 18, 2020, ahead of the launch of the spacecraft in July. Wam -
Engineers are pictured as the Hope probe is transferred from Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre to its launch site at the station on Tanegashima Island in Japan. The crew faced travel challenges due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Courtesy: UAE Space Agency and MBRSC -
The Hope probe is transferred to the launch site at the space station on Tanegashima Island in Japan. Courtesy: UAE Space Agency and MBRSC -
Engineers work on the hope probe ahead of its launch in July 2020. Courtesy: Emirates Mars Mission -
Hope is launched into space on board an H-2A rocket from Tanegashima Space Centre in southwestern Japan. Courtesy: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries -
People wait for the launch of the Hope probe at the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre in Dubai on July 19, 2020. Giuseppe Cacace / AFP -
People wait for the launch of the Hope Mars probe at the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre in Dubai on July 19, 2020. Giuseppe Cacace / AFP -
The Hope probe is launched into space on July 20, 2020. Giuseppe Cacace / AFP -
The Museum of the Future is lit up in red to celebrate the Hope probe's mission to Mars. Antonie Robertson / The National -
All eyes are on today's countdown before the UAE's Hope probe reaches Mars' orbit. AP -
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, and Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, visit the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre in February 2020. Wam -
Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, visits Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre on February 8, 2021 ahead of the Hope probe reaching Mars. Courtesy: Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Twitter
