UAE’s Hope Probe enters Mars’ orbit

Dubai, Feb 10 : Hope Probe, the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) Mars mission, has successfully entered the Red Planet’s orbit, making the country’s space agency the fifth in the world to achieve the feat, authorities announced here on Wednesday.
The Dubai-based Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) announced the probe entered the Mars orbit at 8.13 p.m. on Tuesday, Xinhua news agency reported.
After Hope Probe’s orbit entry, UAE scientists and engineers will spend two months testing the spacecraft and its on-board scientific instruments before the orbiter will transition to its science orbit, the MBRSC said.
In its capture orbit, Hope Probe’s nearest point above Mars’ surface is 1,000 km while its farthest point is 49,380 km.
“During this stage, the ground control at the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre in Dubai will conduct Three Transition to Science (TTS) manoeuvers to move the probe from its capture to science orbit by April,” Omran Ahmed Al Hammadi, head of the Science Data Centre for the probe, said.
Hope Probe’s science orbit is elliptical, between 20,000 km and 43,000 km above Mars’ surface and with an inclination of 25 degrees.