Emirates Mars Mission Science Week to start in July

Imran Mojib, Special Correspondent

The Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) will launch the Emirates Mars Mission (EMM) Science Week during the first week of July, at the Emirates Towers Youth Hub. Science Week is an EMM initiative, the first Arab space exploration mission to an outer planet.

EMM Science Week will include six workshops by MBRSC’s Science Team, and will highlight the scientific aspect of the Emirates Mars Mission (EMM) – Hope Probe, and how the probe will collect data to answer key scientific questions about the Red Planet. The week includes interactive workshops to explain the tools used by scientists in the study of Mars remotely, including an interactive platform on the Internet containing data called “The Mars Climate Model”.

The workshops will include discussions and talks with EMM’s Science Team, and interactive activities that will explain how the data from the probe will be visualised and interpreted.

Yousuf Hamad AlShaibani, Director General of MBRSC, said, “EMM Science Week comes within the framework of enhancing MBRSC’s mission to introduce community members and university and school students to its scientific programmes, space projects, and the importance of scientific progress to make achievements that benefit humanity.”

“EMM Science Week will shed light on the importance of the EMM to the Arab region, as it highlights the ability of the Arabs to contribute effectively to the enrichment of civilisation and human knowledge,” added AlShaibani.

“MBRSC’s initiatives aim at preparing a generation of the highest scientific and professional standards to continue building and developing the UAE to be one of the world’s leading countries in scientific research and innovation,” noted AlShaibani.

Dr. Eng. Mohammed Nasser Al Ahbabi, Director General of UAE Space Agency, said: “As the Hope Probe gets closer to the finish line, we get closer to achieving the ambitions of the UAE, and making the dream a reality. It is now our responsibility to raise awareness about the Emirates Mars Mission and the scientific mission of the probe and how it is set to serve humanity through sharing important scientific data about the Red Planet. We also aim to acknowledge the efforts of the team which is working relentlessly to achieve this stage of work and success.”

“Through these workshops and initiatives, we aim to spread awareness about the critical role the Emirates Mars Mission (EMM) – Hope Probe plays in building national capabilities to address today’s and future challenges; we also aim to introduce the team behind it,” said Omran Sharaf, Project Manager of EMM – Hope Probe.

“The workshop aims to involve the Emirati community in the objectives of the EMM. The workshops will include a detailed explanation of how the probe will reach Mars,” added Sharaf.

Sharaf highlighted that the workshops will address the objectives of the scientific mission, which is a deeper and wider understanding of the Martian atmosphere, and the study of climate change and its relationship to atmospheric erosion, one of the reasons for the escape of liquid water from the surface of the planet.

The workshops will be held from 3.30pm to 8pm on the first two days of July. Some interactive workshops require that you bring your laptop.

Science Week is one of the initiatives of the Emirates Mars Mission (EMM) – Hope Probe. MBRSC is responsible for the execution and supervision of all stages of the design, development and launch of the Hope Probe in 2020. The UAE Space Agency (UAESA) is funding and supervising procedures and necessary details for the implementation of this project. Following a journey of several months, the probe is expected to enter the Red Planet’s orbit in 2021, coinciding with the Golden Jubilee of the Union.

The Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre, founded in 2006, is home to the UAE National Space Programme. The Centre builds and operates earth observation satellites, offering imaging and data analysis services to clients around the world. The Centre launched DubaiSat-1, DubaiSat-2, and recently launched KhalifaSat on 29 October 2018 from Tanegashima Space Center in Japan. KhalifaSat was developed 100 per cent in the UAE by a team of highly qualified Emirati engineers. The Centre is responsible for the development of the Emirates Mars Mission and the Mars Hope Probe, a mission to reach Mars orbit by 2021 and gather key science data about Mars’ atmosphere, and the UAE Astronaut Programme and the development of the Mars 2117 vision to build a human colony on Mars.