Emirates Mars Mission

The Emirates Mars Mission (Arabic: مشروع الإمارات لاستكشاف المريخ, romanized: mašrū' al-Imārāt l-āstikšāf al-Murīkh) is a United Arab Emirates Space Agency uncrewed space exploration mission to Mars. The Hope probe (Arabic: مسبار الأمل, Misbar Al-Amal) was launched on 19 July 2020, and went into orbit around Mars on 9 February 2021.

The project was headed by Omran Sharaf. 200 Emirati scientists and engineers from the UAE and partner institutes were involved in the project. The mission design, development, and operations are led by the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC). The spacecraft was assembled in the United States at the University of Colorado Boulder's Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) by the Emirati engineers, assisted by their American counterparts, with support from Arizona State University (ASU) and the University of California, Berkeley. The project was led by MBRSC at every stage.

The space probe will study daily and seasonal weather cycles, weather events in the lower atmosphere such as dust storms, and how the weather varies in different regions of the planet. It will also add to knowledge about Mars atmospheric hydrogen and oxygen loss and other possible reasons behind the planet's drastic climate changes. The mission is being carried out by a team of Emirati engineers in collaboration with foreign research institutions, and is a contribution towards a knowledge-based economy in the UAE.

Hope was the first of three space missions sent toward Mars during the July 2020 Mars launch window, with missions also launched by the national space agencies of China (Tianwen-1 orbiter, deployable and remote cameras, lander and Zhurong rover) and the United States (Mars 2020 and its Perseverance rover and Ingenuity helicopter drone). The spacecraft was launched from the Tanegashima Space Center in Japan with a Japanese rocket, the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries H-IIA launch vehicle. All three arrived at Mars in February 2021. The Emirates Mars Mission was the first of the three to arrive at Mars, performing a successful orbit entry maneuver on 9 February 2021.

On 9 February 2021, the United Arab Emirates became the first Arab country and the fifth country to reach Mars and the second country to successfully enter Mars' orbit on its first try after India. In April 2023, The New York Times reported an updated global map of Mars based on images from the Hope spacecraft.