Free Astronomy Magazine July-August 2015

5 ASTRONAUTICS rab Emirates I n 2014, the UAE announced plans to de- velop a space mission aimed at putting a probe into orbit around Mars. In recent months an overview of this mission has been presented, which we want to summa- rize here, while highlighting the positive offshoots that this initiative is already hav- ing and will increasingly have on the so- ciety and economy of this rich Arab state, more eager than others to return after a long time at making a significant contribu- tion to astronomical knowledge. But let us begin from the mission to Mars, that in 2020, year in which Dubai will host the world exhibition, will see the launch into space of a compact car-sized probe, on a trajectory of about 600 million km, that at a cruising speed of 126,000 km/h will reach Mars in 2021, after a journey of 200 days. In that year, the Emirates will celebrate the 50 th anniversary of their formation. Once reached the planet, the probe will go into orbit around it and for a period of at least two years (extendable to 4 years) it will study the atmosphere of Mars from a rela- tively new perspective, including the be-