Following a successful cruise to Mars, a near-perfect Mars Orbit Insertion manoeuvre and our transition from Hope’s capture orbit to our science orbit, we have completed our commissioning, calibration and testing phase. I am delighted to be able to report that the Mars Hope probe is perfectly positioned to commence its two-years science mission.

The UAE made history on Tuesday evening, Feb.9, as the first Arab nation, and the fifth in the world, to reach Mars after the Hope Probe successfully entered the Red Planet’s orbit on, at 7:42pm.

Generation Hope will be running two camps in December and January. The first is a five-day Generation Hope Camp in December that will focus on hosting workshops for middle and high school students aged 12 to 18 years old about Mars and related science topics, and the latest updates on the EMM.

Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, said space programmes are the gateway to science and talent development and the Emirates Mars Mission will position the UAE at the forefront of the Arab scientific movement.

The mission was given a no-go following a weather evaluation. The probe was scheduled to launch in the early hours of Wednesday morning in July 15, 2020 at 12:51am UAE time, but storm clouds rolled in around the launch pad ahead of the scheduled liftoff.