Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Wednesday, Oct 01, 2025

UAE becomes first Arab nation to successfully foray into deep space as Hope probe reaches Mars

UAE becomes first Arab nation to successfully foray into deep space as Hope probe reaches Mars

The United Arab Emirates is the first Arab nation to successfully reach Mars as its robotic probe entered orbit above the red planet on Tuesday, beginning a two-year mission to map and detail the Martian climate.

Emirati officials confirmed that the spacecraft called Al Amal, meaning Hope, successfully entered orbit at 4:15pm GMT.


The UAE mission is the first of three expeditions setting their sights on Mars in the coming weeks, with Chinese spacecraft Tianwen-1 scheduled to begin its orbit on Wednesday and land a module and rover on the planet’s surface in May. China’s space agency will attempt to put those down in the large impact crater known as Utopia Planitia.

Meanwhile, NASA’s Perseverance mission is scheduled to reach Mars on February 18, with the US space agency attempting to immediately place a rover in a crater, Jezero, which was once a lake in the northern hemisphere of the planet. Scientists think it’s a site where signs of life – if indeed any did exist on the planet – could be preserved. NASA also plans to deploy a helicopter-type surveillance robot as part of the mission.

Just getting to Mars has capped a remarkable journey for the UAE, a small nation on the Persian Gulf known more for its skyscrapers and deserts than for scientific achievement. Live mission updates are being projected across Dubai from the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building.


Visitors arriving at UAE airports also received a Martian ink stamp on their passports on Tuesday to mark the historic event.

The Hope probe project aims to look at how dust storms and other weather conditions near the surface affect the speed at which Martian air is leaking away into outer space. The orbiter is being commanded by mission control at the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center (MBRSC) in Dubai, with automated instructions taking 11 minutes to cover the 190-million-kilometer distance from Earth.


Launched on July 20, 2020, Hope carried roughly 800 kilos of fuel – about half of which was likely used up in the maneuver to put the SUV-sized satellite into an elliptical orbit, slowing down from a blistering pace of 120,000kph to 18,000kph.

The red planet was first reached in 1960 by a spacecraft from the Soviet Union, and it took a decade longer before a mission succeeded in putting a lander on the Martian surface. The USSR’s Mars 3 lander touched down in December 1971, but contact was lost after just 14 seconds.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Arab Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Trump Backs Putin’s Land-for-Peace Proposal Amid Kyiv’s Rejection
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
United States Sells Luxury Yacht Amadea, Valued at Approximately $325 Million, in First Sale of a Seized Russian Yacht Since the Invasion of Ukraine
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
×