Amal or HOPE/ Arab’s world first inter-planetary mission

Amal or HOPE/ Arab’s world first inter-planetary mission

Subject: Science and Technology

Context: Arab spacecraft enters orbit around Mars in historic flight after 7 months.

Concept:

• Unmanned craft, called Amal, Arabic for Hope, had reached the end of its nearly seven-month, 300-million-mile journey and had begun circling the red planet.
• It is a Mars orbiter spacecraft of the United Arab Emirates which is Arab world’s first inter-planetary mission.
• The mission is officially named the Emirates Mars Mission (EMM) and the orbiter has been named Hope or ‘Al Amal’.
• The mission has a life of one Martian year (equivalent to 2 earth year).
• The mission aims to understand:

1. Climate dynamics and global weather map of Mars by studying the lower atmosphere of Mars
2. Weather of Mars affects the escape of hydrogen and oxygen, by correlating conditions in the lower and upper atmosphere
3. The presence and variability of hydrogen and oxygen in the upper atmosphere, and why Mars is losing these gases to space.