MAKING THAT GIANT LEAP FOR HUMANKIND–THE HOPE PROBE TO THE RED PLANET, July 11, 2020, virtual, 11:30 am ET (7:30 pm in Dubai)

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) Office of Public & Cultural Diplomacy and the Emirates Literature Foundation will host a webinar on July 11, 2020 at 7:30 pm in Dubai (11:30 am Eastern Daylight Time) to discus the UAE’s Hope probe that will be launched to Mars on July 14.  The probe is being launched by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) from Tanegashima and this webinar originates from Japan.

The Hope spacecraft was built in the United States by the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) at the University of Colorado Boulder, and two other U.S. universities participated in building its scientific instruments.  The project is funded, managed and will be operated by the UAE from the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre.  Hope will reach Mars orbit in 2021, the 50th anniversary of the founding of the UAE.

Participants in the webinar are:

H.E. Zaki Nusseibeh, Minister of State for the Office of Public and Cultural Diplomacy
Dr. Farouk El-Baz, NASA space scientist and geologist
Salem AlMarri, Head of the UAE Astronaut Programme, Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (moderator)

More information and a registration link are on the event’s website.