Dubai, Feb 9 (AFP/APP):A tense half-hour on Tuesday will determine the fate of the UAE’s “Hope” probe to Mars, as the Arab world’s first space mission carries out a tricky manoeuvre to enter the Red Planet’s orbit. If successful, the probe which is designed to reveal the secrets of Martian weather, will become the first of three spacecraft to arrive at the Red Planet this month. The United Arab Emirates, China and the United States all launched missions last July, taking advantage of a period when the Earth and Mars are nearest. The venture marks the 50th anniversary of the unification of the UAE’s seven emirates. Landmarks across the Gulf state have been lit up in red at night and government accounts and police patrol cars emblazoned with the #ArabstoMars hashtag. Hope will begin a 27-minute “burn” at 1530 GMT to slow itself enough to be pulled in by Martian gravity, in what Emirati officials say is the most challenging part of the mission. It will rotate and fire all six of its powerful thrusters to dramatically slow its average cruising speed of 121,000 kilometres (75,000 miles) per hour to about 18,000 kph. With an 11-minute communications lag — the time it takes … Continue reading The Arab world’s first space mission