A veteran of multiple NASA missions to Mars, Northern Arizona University planetary scientist Christopher Edwards will closely watch the launch of a space probe to Mars that carries a unique new instrument he co-designed in collaboration with engineers from the United Arab Emirates Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) and Arizona State University.
The first mission ever launched by the Arab world into our solar system, the Emirates Mars Mission Hope orbiter is expected to lift off in July (exact launch date depends on weather conditions) on an H-IIA rocket from Tanegashima, Japan. The spacecraft, which is about the size of a small car, was constructed at the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) at the University of Colorado, Boulder by a joint MBRSC/LASP team led by project director Omran Sharaf from MBRSC and deputy program manager and science lead investigator Her Excellency Sarah Al Amiri. The overall team working on the Mission comprises some 200 staff from MBRSC, 150 from LASP and 100 from other partners throughout the world, including NAU.
Click on this link for the full article: NAU planetary scientist collaborates on inaugural Mars mission launched by Arab world