DUBAI, 12th April, 2022 (WAM) — The Emirates Mars Mission (EMM), the first interplanetary exploration by an Arab nation, has completed a joint scientific data analysis initiative with NASA’s MAVEN Mars mission, paving the way to greater things will scientific cooperation and data sharing between the two missions.
The partnership will enable the sharing and joint analysis of data and observations made by the Emirates Mars mission’s Hope probe and NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) project, and will enhance the science outputs of the two spacecraft, currently orbiting Mars and observing the atmosphere of the Red Planet. The agreement is expected to bring significant value to both EMM and MAVEN, and to the global scientific communities analyzing the data collected from the missions.
“Since EMM was founded, the project has been defined by strong international collaborations and partnerships. Being able to collaborate with other Mars missions and gain further insights by sharing our observations and working together to put the pieces of the puzzle together is what we are. The complementarity of EMM and MAVEN means that together we really can see the big picture,” said Omran Sharaf, Emirates Mars Mission Project Manager.
MAVEN completed its entry into Mars orbit in 2014. Its mission is to study the upper atmosphere and ionosphere of Mars and provide insights into how the planet’s climate is changing over time.
“MAVEN and EMM are each studying different aspects of the Martian atmosphere and upper atmospheric system. Together, we will better understand the coupling between the two and the influence of the lower atmosphere on escaping atmospheric gases,” said Shannon Curry, planetary science scientist and Principal Investigator of MAVEN at the University of California.
The Emirates Mars mission’s Hope probe, which entered Mars orbit on February 9, 2021, is studying the relationship between the upper layer and the lower regions of the Martian atmosphere, giving the international scientific community full access to a holistic view of the Atmosphere of the planet at different times of the day, through different seasons.
Sharaf added: “The MAVEN and Hope Probe comprehensive EMM science was designed to achieve scientific goals that directly align with the goals of MEPAG. Their observations have always aimed to provide new insights that were not possible on previous missions to Mars.
By combining the two datasets from the EMM and MAVEN missions and analyzing the results together, we can now provide a meaningful answer to many fundamental questions about Mars and the evolution and dynamics of its atmosphere.”
EMM was designed to meet a set of goals defined by the global association of Mars scientists and explorers, MEPAG – the Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group. Following MAVEN and other previous missions, Hope set out to measure the global, diurnal and seasonal response of the Martian atmosphere to solar forcing; atmospheric conditions related to the rate of atmospheric escape – particularly of hydrogen and oxygen and the temporal and spatial behavior of the Martian exosphere. With initial results showing exciting observations of discrete Mars auroras, and additional bandwidth and resources available to collect additional observations, new measurements of aurora phenomena have been integrated into the mission’s objectives, expanding their capabilities beyond Hope’s planned goals .
EMM and Hope Probe are the culmination of a knowledge transfer and development effort begun in 2006, in which Emirati engineers have worked with partners around the world to develop the design, engineering and manufacture of UAE spacecraft.
The spacecraft weighs about 1,350 kg and is about the size of a small SUV. It was designed and developed by engineers at the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center (MBRSC) in collaboration with academic partners such as the University of Colorado’s Laboratory of Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP), Boulder; Arizona State University and the University of California at Berkeley.
The MAVEN mission is managed by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center for principal investigator at the University of California, Berkeley. Spacecraft operations are performed by Lockheed Martin and scientific operations by the University of Colorado Atmospheric and Space Physics Laboratory.
Translated by: Mervat Mahmoud.
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