UAE’s Minister of Cabinet Affairs, Mohammad bin Abdullah Al Gergawi has observed that at $200 million, the emirate’s Hope Mars Mission is considered among the lowest in the world when compared with similar programs.
Minister Al Gergawi stated that the Emirates Mars Mission team went through the development with 200 new designs leading to the manufacturing of 66 pieces of the probe components in the UAE and publishing 51 research papers on the project. The mission also benefited over 60,000 participants through the Mission’s scientific and academic programs.
He praised the support given by President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, and His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, to the project.
“Today, the mission also reached another milestone, when the spacecraft was positioned on to the rocket that will send it into space,” the minister said.
The Mission’s success, Al Gergawi maintained, is concurrent with the UAE’s successes in containing the coronavirus.
“Commitment to deadlines is an approach that the UAE is following in all its plans and projects,” he said.
The Hope Probe is scheduled to liftoff on 15th July 2020 at 00:51:27 UAE time from the Tanegashima Space Centre with an anticipated arrival time of February 2021 at Mars Orbit which will be coinciding with the UAE’s Golden Jubilee celebrations to mark the historic union of the Emirates.
