The United Arab Emirates’ Hope probe aims to give a year-round picture of Mars’ atmosphere.
Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre
This story is part of Welcome to Mars, our series exploring the red planet.
This is a big week for Mars robots. The first of three missions launched in July last year will reach the red planet Tuesday and you can follow along live right here.
The United Arab Emirates’ spacecraft mission, the Hope probe, is scheduled to enter Mars’ orbit on Tuesday. The UAE Space Agency will provide live coverage starting around 7:30 a.m. PT.
We won’t be getting live views of the spacecraft in action, but expect to follow along as mission control tracks Hope in its maneuvers and reports on what will hopefully be a successful arrival. You can track the probe’s progress online as it closes in on its destination.
Hope has spent over 200 days traveling from Earth to the red planet. It won’t deliver a rover, but it’s set to take on some important science by studying the planet’s atmosphere, weather and seasons.
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Hope will shortly be followed in orbit by China’s Tianwen-1 on Wednesday, and NASA will take over the spotlight on Feb. 18 when it tries to land the Perseverance rover on the surface of the planet. It will be a perilous and exciting moment during a busy month at Mars.
But first, all eyes are on Hope.
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