The UAE’s Hope probe has moved to a new orbit around Mars to study one of the planet’s tiny moons.
Deimos, which measures only 6.2km in radius, is the smaller of the two moons that orbit the Red Planet.
Hope, the Arab world’s first interplanetary mission, will perform fly-bys that will take it within 100km of the moon.
The announcement was made on February 9, the second anniversary of the spacecraft reaching Mars.
“The Emirates Mars Mission has a unique opportunity to fully characterise the disc-resolved composition, thermophysics, shape and geologic surface features of Deimos in resolution that haven’t been acquired before,” said Hessa Al Matroushi, science lead of the mission.
Moving to the new orbit
Since arriving in Mars orbit, the Hope probe has been in an elliptical orbit between 22,000km and 44,000km from the planet’s surface, allowing it to observe from much higher above than any other spacecraft.
Now, the inclination of that orbit has changed after the spacecraft performed a manoeuvre called the Lambert orbital transfer.
This means the spacecraft fired its Delta-V thrusters to make manoeuvres that allowed it to move from one elliptical orbit to another.
Two of the three required manoeuvres have already been made, allowing it to reach a new orbit between 20,000km and 43,000km with a 25-degree incline towards the planet.
“Previously, we didn't have any reason to move the orbit,” Ms Al Matroushi said.
“But now we’re exploring a new adventure and science mission.”
What will it study?
Engineers are using the probe’s three main science instruments to capture images and data of the moon.
These include an exploration imager ― a high-resolution camera ― to photograph the moon, and the infrared and ultraviolet spectrometers to measure its temperature and observe its thermophysical properties, including its regolith, or dust.
The first Deimos fly-by took place in late January, and as the probe moves to its closest approach to the moon, it will take high-resolution images.
It will also continue to study atmospheric conditions on Mars. So far, the Emirates Mars Mission team have released six batches of data on the Red Planet, more than 1.7 terabytes.
What's special about Deimos?
Deimos completes an orbit around Mars every 30 hours and is much smaller than its companion, Phobos.
"Like Phobos, Deimos is a small and lumpy, heavily cratered object," Nasa said.
"Its craters are generally smaller than 1.6 miles [2.5km] in diameter, however, and it lacks the grooves and ridges seen on Phobos.
"Deimos also has a thick regolith, perhaps as deep as 328 feet [100m], formed as meteorites pulverised the surface."
The moon has been studied by spacecraft from other space agencies, but Emirati engineers are hoping that their probe will bring new discoveries, including new data on the moon's dark side ― the part that faces the planet.
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Avatar: Fire and Ash
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Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
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Tightening the screw on rogue recruiters
The UAE overhauled the procedure to recruit housemaids and domestic workers with a law in 2017 to protect low-income labour from being exploited.
Only recruitment companies authorised by the government are permitted as part of Tadbeer, a network of labour ministry-regulated centres.
A contract must be drawn up for domestic workers, the wages and job offer clearly stating the nature of work.
The contract stating the wages, work entailed and accommodation must be sent to the employee in their home country before they depart for the UAE.
The contract will be signed by the employer and employee when the domestic worker arrives in the UAE.
Only recruitment agencies registered with the ministry can undertake recruitment and employment applications for domestic workers.
Penalties for illegal recruitment in the UAE include fines of up to Dh100,000 and imprisonment
But agents not authorised by the government sidestep the law by illegally getting women into the country on visit visas.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: N2 Technology
Founded: 2018
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Startups
Size: 14
Funding: $1.7m from HNIs
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Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
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Director: Rupert Wyatt
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Founder: Jon Richards, founder and chief executive; Samer Chebab, co-founder and chief operating officer, and Jonathan Rawlings, co-founder and chief financial officer
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Sector: Financial services
Size: 120 employees
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Juventus 1 (Dybala 45')
Lazio 3 (Alberto 16', Lulic 73', Cataldi 90 4')
Red card: Rodrigo Bentancur (Juventus)
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Schedule (All times UAE)
First practice: Friday, 5-6.30am
Second practice: Friday, 9-10.30am
Third practice: Saturday, 7-8am
Qualifying: Saturday, 10-11am
Race: Sunday, 9am-midday
Race venue: Suzuka International Racing Course
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PSA DUBAI WORLD SERIES FINALS LINE-UP
Men’s:
Mohamed El Shorbagy (EGY)
Ali Farag (EGY)
Simon Rosner (GER)
Tarek Momen (EGY)
Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL)
Gregory Gaultier (FRA)
Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY)
Nick Matthew (ENG)
Women's:
Nour El Sherbini (EGY)
Raneem El Welily (EGY)
Nour El Tayeb (EGY)
Laura Massaro (ENG)
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Coming soon
Torno Subito by Massimo Bottura
When the W Dubai – The Palm hotel opens at the end of this year, one of the highlights will be Massimo Bottura’s new restaurant, Torno Subito, which promises “to take guests on a journey back to 1960s Italy”. It is the three Michelinstarred chef’s first venture in Dubai and should be every bit as ambitious as you would expect from the man whose restaurant in Italy, Osteria Francescana, was crowned number one in this year’s list of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants.
Akira Back Dubai
Another exciting opening at the W Dubai – The Palm hotel is South Korean chef Akira Back’s new restaurant, which will continue to showcase some of the finest Asian food in the world. Back, whose Seoul restaurant, Dosa, won a Michelin star last year, describes his menu as, “an innovative Japanese cuisine prepared with a Korean accent”.
Dinner by Heston Blumenthal
The highly experimental chef, whose dishes are as much about spectacle as taste, opens his first restaurant in Dubai next year. Housed at The Royal Atlantis Resort & Residences, Dinner by Heston Blumenthal will feature contemporary twists on recipes that date back to the 1300s, including goats’ milk cheesecake. Always remember with a Blumenthal dish: nothing is quite as it seems.
Off-roading in the UAE: How to checklist
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