“Following an examination of the agency’s ambitious Mars Sample Return plan, the board’s report concludes that NASA is prepared for the campaign, building on decades of scientific advancements and technical progress in Mars exploration,” NASA said in a statement on Tuesday.

We're ready to undertake a new campaign to return the first samples from Mars. This groundbreaking partnership with @ESA will build on decades of scientific advancements and technical progress in Mars exploration: https://t.co/Yrc2Gy1P6H pic.twitter.com/FEifWiYM3U

— NASA (@NASA) November 10, 2020

The process of bringing back samples from Mars will be a long one. The first part involves the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover launched in July. The rover is halfway on its path to the planet. The Perseverance Rover equipped with a coring drill and sample tubes will store the rocks in collection tubes after extraction.

Few of the rocks collected will then be picked up by ESA’s “fetch” rover. The next process includes the ESA rover delivering the rock samples to the NASA-provided MARS Ascent vehicle, which will launch into Mars’ orbit. The process doesn’t end there as again ESA would come into play. An ESA-provided Earth Return Orbiter will take these samples from the MARS Ascent vehicle and then bring them back to Earth sometime in the 2030s.

I’m proud to be the first leg of Mars Sample Return. Things are looking good for @NASA and @ESA to bring pristine samples of Martian rocks back to Earth in the future. https://t.co/vdsPrDMg23 #CountdownToMars pic.twitter.com/eZyn4M7BIM

— NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover (@NASAPersevere) November 10, 2020

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said that Mars Sample Return is something NASA needs to do as a leading member of the global community.

The sample return from Mars will be crucial turning point in understanding key astrobiology questions about the red planet- getting a step closer to the eventual goal of sending humans to Mars.

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It was in the 1960s and 1970s that Nasa, the United States space agency, landed humans on the moon. These missions suggested that humans could stay safely on the Moon for a few days without any problems. However, Nasa did not measure the daily space radiation that hits the moon’s surface. And now, a team of scientists, using the data provided by China’s Chang’e 4 lander, has unveiled the space radiation level in earth’s natural satellite.

According to the new study report, the radiation in the Moon is two to three times higher than the radiation received in the International Space Station (ISS). This is mainly due to the partial protection ISS is receiving from the earth’s magnetosphere. Interestingly, the radiation received on the moon is 200 times higher when compared to the space radiation that hits the earth’s surface.

“The radiation of the Moon is between two and three times higher than what you have on the ISS (International Space Station). So that limits your stay to approximately two months on the surface of the Moon,” Robert Wimmer-Schweingruber, co-author of the study told a news agency.

The new study report comes at a time when the United States is planning to land humans on the moon in 2024. The study report is alarming, and it has made many people believe that NASA is putting the life of astronauts at risk by sending them to the moon again.

Recently, astro-biologist Samantha Rolfe had also expressed similar concerns, and she had claimed that upcoming Mars colonisation missions could turn suicidal, as the Red Planet does not have a magnetosphere of its own.

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It was on July 19, 2020, that the United Arab Emirates launched its first Mars probe named Hope from Japan. According to the latest updates, the spacecraft is one-fifth of its way, and now, it has spotted Mars for the first time. To celebrate this milestone achievement, the space probe has also sent some photos of the Red Planet from the darkness of the space. The image sent back by Hope shows Mars as a tiny dot, a portrait very similar to the iconic ‘pale blue dot’ image taken by the Voyager 1 space probe.

“The Hope probe is officially 100 million km (60 million miles) into its journey to the Red Planet. Mars, as demonstrated in the image captured by the probe’s star tracker, is ahead of us, leaving Saturn and Jupiter behind. The Hope probe is expected to arrive at Mars in February 2021,” said His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE.

The Hope probe is considered a very challenging space mission, and during its course to the Red Planet, it should perform about six trajectory correction maneuvers. Earlier this month, the first trajectory correction maneuver was carried out successfully by the probe.

“We have accomplished our first trajectory correction maneuver, which was the first test of Mars Hope’s propulsion and trajectory control systems, as well as the first time the spacecraft’s six Delta-V thrusters have been activate,” said Omran Sharaf, project director of the Hope Mission.

If everything goes well, the Hope probe will study the climate of Mars, and the data obtained by the mission will help humans to know more about the weather pattern that prevails in the Red Planet.

In the meantime, NASA’s Perseverance probe is also en route to Mars. The ultimate aim of this mission is to detect signs of ancient alien life on the Red Planet.

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According to Waring, if such a discovery was being made on Greece, people will believe it a sign of ancient civilisation. However, nobody is bothered about such discoveries that show evident signs of alien life on the Martian surface.

“The foot has muscles and veins showing through the skin surface. I believe this to be a real foot because most of the statues on Mars are less quality and detail. Perhaps this is a foot of an alien that was part of an invasion force. The foot does not have five toes but instead has only two large areas in the front…probably toes, but would seem less weak than five toes would,” wrote Waring on his website UFO Sightings Daily.

Waring’s claims and this new discovery has impressed his followers, and they believe that this Taiwanese researcher is doing a great role to trigger the much-needed alien disclosure.

However, as always, sceptics have dismissed this discovery of Waring, calling it a pure case of pareidolia, a phenomenon that makes the human brain form recognizable images on unknown patterns.

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It was from 2015 to 2018 that NASA’s now-retired Dawn mission orbited Ceres, a dwarf planet that is located between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. As the probe orbited, it spotted a bright layer on the surface of Ceres. Now, a new study has found that this layer is basically salt deposits made up of sodium, carbon, and oxygen, that might have reached the surface of this dwarf planet from an underground ocean.

The new study report revealed that this underground ocean beneath the surface of Ceres could be located at least 25 miles deep, and it might be hundreds of miles wide. According to researchers who took part in this study, this geological process where salts reached the surface of the space body is still happening.

“In the case of Ceres, we know the liquid reservoir is a regional scale but we cannot tell for sure that it is global. However, what matters most is that there is liquid on a large scale,” said Carol Raymond, a researcher at NASA, Reuters reports.

As the presence of liquid water in the underground ocean of Ceres has been confirmed, experts now believe that it could also act as a first step to discover alien life that might be thriving at least in its microbial form in this dwarf planet.

Jim Bridenstine, NASA administrator also admitted that Ceres is one of the potential candidates where humans can search for alien life. Bridenstine, in one of his recent tweets, revealed that Ceres is the latest evidence that our solar system is filled with ancient habitable environments.

Earlier, space experts have found evidence of underground oceans in Saturn’s moon Enceladus as well. Scientists believe that this underground water body could be also helping life to thrive and evolve.

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Scott C. Waring, a popular conspiracy theorist who is currently operating from Taiwan, has claimed to have discovered an alien temple on the surface of Mars. In a recent post on his website, Waring argues that the mysterious structure spotted on the Martian surface is proof of alien existence on Mars.

According to Waring, this temple is located on a hilltop on Mars, and he also claimed to have spotted even a doorway made of vertical layers on this structure.

“I was looking over some NASA mars photos and came across something on a hilltop. A structure. Its upper walls were made with horizontal layers, but its doorway was made of vertical layers. That shows intelligent design. That is undeniably alien made. The structure is about 2 meters by 2 meters. So the species that made it had to be small enough to go through the doorway,” wrote Waring on his website ET Data Base.

After making this discovery, Waring also shared details of his finding on YouTube. Most of the viewers who saw the video uploaded by Waring seems convinced that aliens have once lived on Mars.

“That structure looks built. By intellect, it was carved and does not look natural as the igneous rock from lava, or precipitated by water, as sedimentary rock or volcanic rock like metamorphic,” commented Summer Brooks, a YouTube user.

“I definitely believe that Mars was a thriving planet full of beings and buildings until it was hit by an asteroid or other planet destroying the whole planet and all life upon it,” commented Arch Angel, another YouTuber.

However, sceptics who analysed the finding argue that most of the discoveries made by Waring are pure cases of pareidolia. According to experts, pareidolia is a unique characteristic of the human brain which will help to form recognisable images on unknown patterns.

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As South Korea is planning to launch a lunar orbiter in 2022, and send a lunar landing module by 2030, “I hope that we share the experience and scientific data, so we can open up a new chapter of our cooperation in space exploration,” said Cheolho Lim, President of Korea Aerospace Research Institute, KARI, which is the aeronautics and space agency of South Korea, the WAM news agency reported

“I believe Korea can greatly benefit from the UAE’s experience and accumulated knowledge in Mars when Korea carries out Mars exploration in future,” he said, adding that both parties can carry out joint Moon and Mars exploration projects in future.

The Hope Probe blasted off from Japan’s Tanegashima Space Centre ‪at 01:58 Monday morning‬ and it would travel 493.5 million km over seven months to reach Mars’ orbit in February 2021, coinciding with the UAE’s Golden Jubilee celebrations to mark the historic union of the Emirates.

Once Hope Probe successfully reaches Mars, the UAE will join the exclusive club of spacefarers that have landed on Mars, alongside the US, Russia, the European Union and India.

KARI president went on to say that “the UAE has become the fifth country in the world to launch a Mars probe. This means the UAE is one step ahead of Korea in terms of space exploration, especially in Mars probe.”

By successfully launching Hope Probe as its first mission, UAE has joined the elite club of spacefaring nations at one go, Lim said.

“I extend my heartfelt congratulations on the achievement. I sincerely wish Hope Probe’s safe arrival on Mars’ orbit and successful completion of the mission,” he said.

“I have no doubt that this was made possible by the UAE’s highest leadership with keen insight into the future, UAE people’s passion toward space, with strong support from the government,” he said.

South Korea’s space industry and KARI have been closely cooperating in the development of Earth observation satellites with UAE over the past ten years, Lim pointed out.

“And this has led to a fruitful relationship between two countries. I hope Korea becomes part of the UAE’s ongoing Mars Science City project, so our partnership in space can be further strengthened.”

In line with Mars 2117 Strategy, the UAE will build a complex of buildings called Mars Scientific City in Dubai. It will comprise laboratories for food, energy and water, agricultural testing and studies about food security in the future.

Mars Scientific City will include a laboratory that will stimulate the red planet’s terrain and harsh environment through advanced 3D printing technology and heat and radiation insulation. A team of scientists and astronauts will live in this simulated environment for one year.

Kari president said, “The UAE’s Mars 2117 Vision is something no countries have ever tried before. I wish UAE all of the very best in its continued endeavours in space, including the planned human settlement on Mars by 2117.”

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The nation held its breath on July 19 along with the entire region, as the Probe took off from Land of Rising Sun, aboard a Mitsubishi H-IIA rocket in the first mission to the red planet by any West Asian, Arab or Muslim majority country.
Further details about the mission will be announced in a press conference that will take place in Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre Monday at 13:00 on July 20

The Hope Probe blasted off from Japan’s Tanegashima Space Centre at 01:58 Monday morning, the Probe then was successfully released from the rocket at 02:55, and its solar panels were turned on to ensure at 03:00, then the panels were set to face the sun properly.

The UAE Space Agency and Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre have announced that the first transmission was received at 03:11am. The team of the Ground Control Station has analyzed the data to ensure that the solar panels are facing the sun properly.
The Ground Control Team is monitoring the functions of the Probe to ensure that all systems are working properly.

It will take seven months to travel the 493 million km, it is expected to reach its Mar’s orbit in February 2021 marking the 50th anniversary of the UAE. The launch of the probe was delayed two time due to unstable weather conditions, the July 20th was chosen as the third launch date.

The Hope Probe team will communicate and share findings with the global Mars science community on key questions that no other mission has addressed before.

Once it enters Mars’ orbit in the first quarter of 2021, the Hope probe will mark the UAE’s 50th anniversary. The probe will travel 493 million kilometers into space in a journey that will take seven months, and will orbit the Red Planet for one full Martian year of 687 days to provide the first truly global picture of the Martian atmosphere. The Hope probe will be the first to study the Martian climate throughout daily and seasonal cycles. It will observe the weather phenomena in Mars such as the massive famous dust storms that have been known to engulf the Red Planet, as compared to the short and localized dust storms on earth.

The Mars Hope probe will examine the interaction between the upper and lower layers of the Martian atmosphere and causes of the Red Planet’s surface corrosion, as well as study why Mars is losing its upper atmosphere.

Exploring connections between today’s Martian weather and the ancient climate of the Red Planet will give deeper insights into the past and future of Earth and the potential of life on Mars and other distant planets.

The probe will gather and send back new Mars data to the Science Data Center in the UAE via different ground stations spread around the world. The data will be catalogued and analyzed by the Emirates Mars Mission science team, and shared for free with the international Mars science community as a service to human knowledge.

The insights and data gained from understanding the Martian climate will add new dimensions to human knowledge about how atmospheres work, which will help scientists and researchers evaluate distant worlds for conditions that might support life. Understanding the geographical and climate changes of Mars and the other planets will help us gain deeper insights to find solutions for key challenges facing mankind on earth.

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Sheikh Abdullah bin Mohammed Al Hamed, Chairman of the Department of Health, Abu Dhabi, was the first individual in the world to commence the trial of a Phase III inactivated vaccine for COVID-19. Acting Undersecretary of the Department Dr. Jamal Al Kaabi was the second volunteer to try the vaccine showcasing the commitment of the UAE Government and the Health Authorities to find a cure for humanity’s biggest challenge of the 21st century.

The world’s first Phase III trial is the result of a cooperation partnership between Abu Dhabi based G42 Healthcare, currently at the forefront of the battle against COVID-19 in the UAE, and Sinopharm CNBG, the world’s sixth largest vaccine manufacturer, ranked 169th on the Fortune Global 500 list of 2018.

The trials are being operated by health practitioners from Abu Dhabi Health Services, SEHA, who are providing facilities at five of their clinics in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain in addition to a mobile clinic to ensure the trials are readily accessible to volunteers participating in the programme.

Over the past few months, G42 Healthcare meanwhile, has established a massive throughput laboratory to speed up the detection of the disease; manufactured essential Personal Protective Equipment; conducted research into new vaccines and drug therapies, and used its advanced AI capabilities to map and predict trends in the outbreak, virus mutations and help combat the disease.

The UAE was the preferred choice for the cooperation partnership to conduct the Phase III trials for the inactive vaccine as the nation is home to over 200 nationalities, allowing for robust research across multiple ethnicities and increasing its feasibility for global application on the success of the trials.

The UAE Health Authorities have recently issued a permit for up to 15,000 volunteers to take part in the trials. G42 Healthcare and SEHA are working towards achieving a minimum of 5,000 participants in the first stage of the programme to ensure the robustness of the results.

Today’s clinical trial commencement is the start of a series of national initiatives to both foster population health and to enhance the UAE’s medical research and development capabilities, including the local capacity to manufacture the vaccine.

Trial formally began in the presence of Chinese Ambassador to the UAE Ni Jian; senior health department officials and G42 Healthcare and Sinopharm CNBG representatives. The first group of volunteers including UAE nationals and expatriates received the vaccine at Sheikh Khalifa Medical City.

The clinical trials are being conducted under the strict guidance and supervision of the Department of Health Abu Dhabi and SEHA – the Abu Dhabi Health Services Company. The trials follow all international guidelines stipulated by the WHO and the United States Food and Drug Administration, FDA.

The study, if successful, will be approved and accredited by the Ethics Committee for Scientific Research in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.

Commenting on the start of the programme, Dr. Nawal Ahmed Alkaabi, UAE Principle Investigator Sheikh Khalifa Medical City CMO, and Chairperson of the National COVID-19 Clinical Management Committee, said, “Our participation in this trial enables us to make a major contribution in the global fight to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. It is a matter of national pride that we are able to help facilitate the trial process that could have a worldwide impact and help people around the world to benefit from research and – if successful – the manufacture of a vaccine to fight back against this disease.”

The phase III clinical trial follows the success of the phase I and phase II trials conducted by Sinopharm in China, which resulted in 100 percent of the volunteers generating antibodies after two doses in 28 days. The phase III trials will be open to individual volunteers aged between 18 and 60 living in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain and will last for 42 days.

A key factor for COVID-19 vaccine is the urgency around global implementation. Computing power, data processing and diagnostic analysis are G42 Healthcare’s global competitive advantage to support the successful delivery of the world’s first phase III trials of inactivated vaccine.

G42 Healthcare CEO Ashish Koshy said, “We are enormously proud that Sinopharm CNBG has partnered G42 Healthcare in this groundbreaking phase III clinical trial in the UAE. Using our AI solutions, super-computer, advanced diagnostics solutions for COVID-19, G42 Healthcare is uniquely postured to conduct these trials. G42 Healthcare will be responsible for running clinical operations for this trial. We will be leveraging our group’s technical and our own business capabilities to compute, correlate and provide fast and synthesized insights by deploying multiple AI models on the data generated during the trials to accelerate the much awaiting results.

“G42 Healthcare will be mobilizing the logistical management of the trials taking in learnings from its proven capabilities in CRO management, clinical sites initiations and other E2E programme management activities.”

Jingjin Zhu, President, Biological products, Sinopharm CNBG added, “The United Arab Emirates is a nation of innovation and tolerance, that is home to individuals from every part of the world and ethnic background. We will work closely with our partner to complete this clinical trials successfully, and make this vaccine available to the people in need worldwide. With the full support of local authorities, cutting-edge technologies provided by our partner G42 Healthcare, and high-quality services and supports from the medical and clinical entities, we will jointly contribute to the battle against COVID-19 worldwide.”

Now that the trials have officially commenced, G42 Healthcare and the UAE Health Authorities will shortly launch a public awareness campaign to encourage UAE residents to participate in this critical to humanity clinical trial programme.

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