The relatively low cost of the UAE’s mission to Mars will help pave the way for the country to explore other planets in the future, experts have said.
The UAE has spent $200 million on the Hope probe, from its conception right the way through to its design, construction and launch.
Similar missions to the Red Planet have cost far more. Nasa's Maven orbiter, for example, which was sent to Mars in 2013, cost Dh2.46 billion ($671m).
“The UAE government was adamant in finding a relatively low mission cost and at the same time completing in a shorter time,” said Sarah Al Ameri, president of the UAE Space Agency and deputy project manager of the Emirates Mars Mission (EMM).
Ms Al Ameri said the EMM team had been given a strict budget by the government and a timeline of just six years to complete the launch of the Hope probe.
Other countries have previously taken a decade to design and build more complex spacecraft and their necessary operating systems.
“To be able to meet those two constraints – the budget and timeline – we re-looked at how to design such missions and reduce design complexity,” said Ms Al Amiri.
“If you look at other missions, they have a multitude of science objectives that they would like to address, and at the same time they have several suites of instruments that go on board.
"To reduce the complexity, we had three instruments.”
The Hope probe aims to study the lower and upper atmosphere of Mars by using three key pieces of equipment.
Its infrared spectrometer will measure the distribution of dust, ice clouds and water vapour while a sophisticated camera will take high-resolution images of the planet.
An ultraviolet spectrometer will also study the upper atmosphere of the Red Planet and record traces of oxygen and hydrogen.
Other spacecraft launched to explore Mars in recent years include Nasa's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter in 2005 and the Trace Gas Orbiter, a joint project by Russia's space agency and the European Space Agency that was launched in 2016.
The UAE’s Hope probe will be placed in a much higher orbit than previous craft, however, allowing it to capture broader images. Scientists calculate it will be able to make a full circle of Mars every 55 hours.
“It will give us a full understanding on how atmospheres evolve and how the weather systems impact atmospheric evolutions,” said Ms Al Amiri.
“This is very important for scientists to better understand climate change on Earth and to find all of the leading causes of it.”
The UAE has worked with three leading US universities - the University of Colorado, Arizona State University and University of California, Berkeley - to help develop the probe and its instruments.
Ms Al Amiri said the Emirates had worked with its partners to ensure the mission was cost-effective, but also that it offered the opportunity to collect substantial data on the planet.
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
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- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
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- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
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The Bio
Favourite holiday destination: Either Kazakhstan or Montenegro. I’ve been involved in events in both countries and they are just stunning.
Favourite book: I am a huge of Robin Cook’s medical thrillers, which I suppose is quite apt right now. My mother introduced me to them back home in New Zealand.
Favourite film or television programme: Forrest Gump is my favourite film, that’s never been up for debate. I love watching repeats of Mash as well.
Inspiration: My late father moulded me into the man I am today. I would also say disappointment and sadness are great motivators. There are times when events have brought me to my knees but it has also made me determined not to let them get the better of me.
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TOURNAMENT INFO
Opening fixtures:
Friday, Oct 5
8pm: Kabul Zwanan v Paktia Panthers
Saturday, Oct 6
4pm: Nangarhar Leopards v Kandahar Knights
8pm: Kabul Zwanan v Balkh Legends
Tickets
Tickets can be bought online at https://www.q-tickets.com/apl/eventlist and at the ticket office at the stadium.
TV info
The tournament will be broadcast live in the UAE on OSN Sports.
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War 2
Director: Ayan Mukerji
Stars: Hrithik Roshan, NTR, Kiara Advani, Ashutosh Rana
Rating: 2/5
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Sly%20Cooper%20and%20the%20Thievius%20Raccoonus
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Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
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Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
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Canadians living in the UAE can register to vote online and be added to the International Register of Electors.
They'll then be sent a special ballot voting kit by mail either to their address, the Consulate General of Canada to the UAE in Dubai or The Embassy of Canada in Abu Dhabi
Registered voters mark the ballot with their choice and must send it back by 6pm Eastern time on October 21 (2am next Friday)
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2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
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British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
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Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
