The al Amal interplanetary station successfully completed the third and final trajectory correction maneuver on its way to Mars. This means that the device should arrive to the red planet in the estimated time, which is scheduled for the evening of February 9, 2021, according to the mission's Twitter.
The United Arab Emirates is actively engaged in its space program, which includes both the development of near-earth orbit and flights of automatic vehicles to the moon and Mars. As part of this program, in July of this year [...], the automatic station Al Amal ("Hope") went to the red planet, which became the first such device in the country.
The total mass of the station, including fuel, is 1,350 kilograms, and its dimensions are 2.37 by 2.9 meters. Al Amal is equipped with two solar panels, six main and eight orientation engines, a multispectral camera, two spectrometers, and communication and navigation systems. It is assumed that the station will study from orbit the lower layers of the Martian atmosphere, the dynamics of seasonal heat flows, as well as the influence of climate on the rate of loss of hydrogen and oxygen by the upper layers of the red planet's atmosphere.
Currently, Al Amal is moving at a speed of almost 93 thousand kilometers per hour and has flown about 65 percent of the way to Mars. On November 8, 2020, the station completed the last of three trajectory correction maneuvers and is aimed at the Mars capture orbit. Thus, it should arrive to the planet in time, it is expected that this will happen at 18-42 Moscow time on February 9, 2021. This will be followed by a 6-week testing period, after which the station will move to an elliptical working orbit with a 55-hour period around Mars and begin a two-year scientific program.
Al Amal is not the only vehicle currently flying to Mars: "Perseverance» and the first Chinese Rover is already halfway to the planet.
Alexander Voityuk
