The Dubai Police General HQ and main buildings, including the Dubai Police Academy in Umm Suqeim, across Dubai have recently turned red in celebration of the UAE’s Hope probe which is set to arrive to Mars on February 9.

According to Brigadier Khalid Ali Shuhail, Acting Assistant to the Commander-in-chief for Community Happiness and Logistic Support, the move is part of the UAE Media Office “The UAE Glows in Red” drive, and in line with the directives of the force’s commander-in-chief, Lieutenant General Abdullah Khalifa Al Marri who has always directed the force to actively participate in the national occasions and celebrations.

Hope Probe, or Al Amal in Arabic, lifted off from Japan’s Tanegashima Space Centre on the 19th of July 2020. It is expected to begin its mission to study the Red Planet’s atmosphere later this month.

Once it enters Mars, the Hope probe will mark the UAE’s 50th anniversary. The probe will have travelled 493 million kilometres into space in a journey that took around seven months and it will orbit the Red Planet for one full Martian year of 687 days to provide the first truly global picture of the Martian atmosphere.

The Hope probe will be the first to study the Martian climate throughout daily and seasonal cycles. It will observe the weather phenomena in Mars such as the massive famous dust storms that have been known to engulf the Red Planet, as compared to the short and localized dust storms on earth.

The Mars Hope probe will examine the interaction between the upper and lower layers of the Martian atmosphere and causes of the Red Planet’s surface corrosion, as well as study why Mars is losing its upper atmosphere.

Exploring connections between today’s Martian weather and the ancient climate of the Red Planet will give deeper insights into the past and future of Earth and the potential of life on Mars and other distant planets.

The probe will gather and send back new Mars data to the Science Data Centre in the UAE via different ground stations spread around the world. The data will be catalogued and analysed by the Emirates Mars Mission science team, and shared for free with the international Mars science community as a service to human knowledge.

The insights and data gained from understanding the Martian climate will add new dimensions to human knowledge about how atmospheres work, which will help scientists and researchers evaluate distant worlds for conditions that might support life. Understanding the geographical and climate changes of Mars and the other planets will help us gain deeper insights to find solutions for key challenges facing mankind on earth.

The Hope Mars Mission is considered the biggest strategic and scientific national initiative announced by President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, in 2014. The UAE will be the first Arab nation to embark on a space mission to the Red Planet in a journey that contributes to the international science community as a service to human knowledge.