The Emirates Space Agency announces the extension of the “Hope Probe” mission until 2028

The Emirates Space Agency announced today the extension of the Emirates Mars Exploration Mission “Hope Probe” for an additional three years, in light of the successes achieved by the mission since its launch, and the probe’s scientific instruments continue to work with high efficiency until today, enabling it to continue collecting accurate data about the atmosphere and climate phenomena of Mars.

Based on the exceptional performance of the Emirates Mars Mission “Hope Probe”, extending the mission will provide valuable scientific data and operational and field experience for current and future space missions in the depths of space, while continuing to provide unique information about the atmosphere of the planet Mars.

His Excellency Dr. Ahmed Belhoul Al Falasi, Minister of Sports, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Emirates Space Agency, pointed out that the decision to extend the mission of the “Hope Probe” until 2028 embodies the UAE’s keenness to enhance the scientific and cognitive impact of its space investments, and its role as a responsible partner in the global scientific research system. These efforts translate the country’s commitment to harnessing space science to serve humanity, support understanding of climate change, and build a future based on knowledge and innovation.

His Excellency added that the UAE’s mission to explore Mars, the “Hope Probe,” represents a long-term strategic choice that reflects the vision of the wise leadership, which views the space sector as one of the pillars of building a sustainable knowledge economy, empowering national competencies, and enhancing the scientific return from strategic investments in this sector.

He stressed that the decision to extend reflects confidence in the competence of the national work teams and the technical readiness of the probe, and confirms that what has been achieved is not a temporary achievement, but rather a sustainable path that consolidates the UAE’s presence and global position in the space sector.

His Excellency Dr. Al Falasi explained that the “Hope Probe” mission had a tangible impact at the societal and national levels, as the country witnessed, after the probe entered the orbit of Mars in 2021, remarkable progress in the outcomes of scientific paths, in parallel with the expansion of the national space system since 2020, as the number of entities operating in the space sector increased threefold between 2020 and 2025, with a noticeable expansion in investment in the areas of research and development.

His Excellency added that between 2015 and 2025, the number of UAE universities offering programs in aerospace engineering and bachelor’s programs specialized in space has doubled, which reflects the UAE’s rapid expansion in its national space system and its continuing efforts to develop national competencies.

The announcement of the extension of the “Hope Probe” mission comes in light of the efficiency of the work of its devices, including the Digital Exploration Camera (EXI), the Infrared Spectrometer (EMIRS), and the Ultraviolet Spectrometer (EMUS), and its ability to collect accurate data about the atmosphere and climate phenomena of Mars, according to reliable and accurate scientific evidence.

The “Hope Probe” will continue its scientific journey around Mars, with the operations team continuing to control and manage the vehicle, and sending data to the mission science data center, which will contribute to enabling the national team to operate the mission efficiently, and continue collecting and analyzing data to support scientific research at the global level.

The experiences gained from managing the mission also contribute to reducing the risks associated with the development of the Emirates mission to explore the asteroid belt.

For his part, His Excellency Salem Butti Al Qubaisi, Director General of the Emirates Space Agency, said that this step constitutes an opportunity to expand the scope of scientific research for the Hope Probe, including studying the Martian atmosphere in more precise detail and comprehensively analyzing seasonal climate phenomena, in addition to continuing research on the smaller Martian moon “Demos.”

He explained that this step also allows the scientific team to continue collecting valuable data, and provide an advanced knowledge base for students and researchers, thus enhancing the role of the UAE in developing national competencies and consolidating its position of excellence in the field of space exploration at the international level, in addition to providing the international scientific community with more additional and necessary data that contributes to enhancing understanding and knowledge of the causes of the escape of the atmosphere of the planet Mars.

In turn, Engineer Mohsen Al-Awadhi, Director of the Space Missions Department at the Emirates Space Agency, said that the new phase of the “Hope Probe” mission provides an opportunity to enhance the scientific and operational operations of the probe, and enable the team to continue collecting accurate data about the atmosphere and climate phenomena of Mars on an ongoing basis, in a way that supports international scientific research. This extension also contributes to developing national expertise and competencies in managing and operating space missions at the highest level of professionalism and efficiency, and enhancing its ability to participate in more future space missions. “Advanced.”

The “Hope Probe” achieved a new scientific achievement, as it directed its instruments away from Mars towards the starry sky to observe the passing comet 3I/ATLAS.

In October 2025, the probe took a set of images of the comet in the visible and ultraviolet light range, using the EXI digital exploration camera and the EMUS ultraviolet spectrometer.

Comet 3I/ATLAS is the third interstellar body to be observed in recorded history, making it an important scientific target for studying the formation of star systems outside our solar system.

The comet approached Mars on October 3, 2025, to a distance of 0.2 astronomical units, or about 30 million kilometers, which gave Martian spacecraft a unique location to carry out observations and conduct studies.

Since the launch of the Emirates Mars Mission, the “Hope Probe,” it has achieved a series of pioneering scientific achievements, as it has released more than 10 terabytes of scientific data to the public, and published about 16 batches of public data to be available to researchers, students, and the international scientific community over the five years of the probe’s presence in Mars orbit, in addition to the research team publishing more than 35 peer-reviewed scientific papers published in prestigious international journals.

The mission contributed to the development of more than 58 Emirati students through participation in the “Research Experience for Universities” program, in addition to providing more than 250 participations in international conferences and events, during which the latest discoveries and data about the planet Mars were presented.

The probe was able, for the first time, to reveal high-definition data and images of the distant and smaller Martian moon, Deimos, in addition to discovering two new types of aurora on the red planet, which represent qualitative scientific additions to the international research community.