How ISRO Contributed To Success Of UAE¡¯s Hope Probe Mars Mission

Last night was a day of immense pride and happiness for the United Arab Emirates as it successfully launched its first-ever interplanetary probe in Mars¡¯s orbit.

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Reports revealed that UAE¡¯s Hope Probe successfully placed itself in the Martian orbit and notified the team back home, by sending a signal & confirming the success of the mission. The successful insertion into the Mars orbit of the Hope Probe made the UAE the fifth nation in history to reach Mars.

And it¡¯s really commendable considering how it was UAE¡¯s first mission of such kind. However, did you know that ISRO too has contributed to the success of Hope Probe?

Former ISRO Chief joined UAE Space Agency

Former ISRO Chief, K. Radhakrishna who was instrumental in the success of ISRO¡¯s Mangalyaan Mission joined United Arab Emirates Space Agency -- the agency responsible for the Hope Mars Probe mission.

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Joining ISRO in 1971 as an Avionics Engineer at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre in Trivandrum, K. Radhakrishna was also awarded a Padmashri for his efforts, & is one of the top 10 scientists in the world, as regarded by the Nature Journal in 2014. He joined the Emirati space agency (advisory board) after he retired from ISRO.

ISRO & Hope Mars Mission

Moreover, reports have revealed that UAE Space Agency and ISRO had joined hands for the development of this mission. The space agencies agreed to work in a joint working group and had several meetings with each other for the development of the space probe. The UAE team had focussed discussions to the experience India had with its Mangalyaan Probe launch which was successfully deployed in 2013.

ISRO lauds UAE¡¯s efforts

ISRO scientists have congratulated the UAE Space Agency on the successful deployment of the probe and have revealed how it could help India¡¯s next mars mission. R. Umamaheshwaran, Scientific Secretary at ISRO, said in a statement to UAE news agency WAM, ¡°Data from Hope Probe on the transport of dust and its large-scale movements on Mars and results on the loss of volatiles from Mars, will be an important input as India finalises its plans for the next Indian mission to Mars."

WAM

He added, ¡°Joint research programmes linked to these studies would be a new avenue for bilateral cooperation. The global coverage this mission provides will complement very well the high-resolution but restricted field-of-view studies carried out by the other contemporary Mars missions [including that of India].¡±