News

UAE Hope Probe To Go Into Orbit Around Mars This Week

Published

5 years ago

February 8, 2021

Emirates Mars Mission

After nearly seven months in space, the Emirates Mars Mission’s Hope Probe (Arabic: مسبار الأمل‎, Al Amal) will make its orbital insertion on February 9, 2021. The objective of the probe is to provide the first complete portrait of the Martian atmosphere, helping scientists understand the climate dynamics of the Red Planet.

The Hope Probe was developed by the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) and the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) at the University of Colorado Boulder, and it will be the first of the three spacecraft that took advantage of the July 2020 Mars launch window, with the other two being Tianwen-1 (China) and Mars 2020 (USA).

Before Hope Probe can use its three scientific instruments to answer important questions about the loss of hydrogen and oxygen from Mars into space, it must first successfully perform a complex and risky maneuver to enter a Mars orbit, using all of its six thrusters to slow down from 121,000 km/h to 18,000 km/h.

Emirates Mars Mission

If successful, the United Arab Emirates will become only the fifth nation to reach Mars. The occasion is timed to mark the 50th anniversary of the unification of the wealthy Gulf state, so the sense of anticipation is understandably sky-high — not just figuratively but also literary. Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest skyscraper, currently shines red to signal the arrival of the Hope Probe to Mars.

Emirates Mars Mission

Regardless of how the Emirates Mars Mission ends, it has already completed its goal of stimulating young students to pursue STEM-related fields.

“We’ve seen a large shift with the mindset of students, first and foremost, within the Emirates” said Her Excellency Sarah bint Yousef Al Amiri, chairperson at the UAE Space Agency and minister of state for advanced sciences in the UAE. “But we’ve also seen a lot of keen engagement within the region, a region that is typically known to be unstable, and that has triggered a lot of thoughts with regards to what is possible” she added.

Emirates Mars Mission

Also Read: Hyperloop Video Provides A Peek At The Future Of Transportation

According to the world’s richest person, Elon Musk, it should be possible to send 1 million people to Mars by 2050, and the data collected by probes such as the Hope Probe are vital for making this lofty plan happen.

You’ll be able to watch live coverage of the UAE Hope Probe reaching Mars on the UAE Space Agency website.

Related Topics:Dubai Space United Arab Emirates

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Dirham-Backed Stablecoin DDSC Enters Live Phase In UAE

Central Bank approval moves the dirham-backed token into deployment, targeting regulated payments and settlement flows.

Published

4 days ago

February 13, 2026

Nour Nasir

dirham-backed stablecoin ddsc enters live phase in uae

The UAE has cleared the launch of DDSC, a dirham-backed stablecoin now entering live operation after approval from the Central Bank. The move pushes the project beyond its pilot phase and into the country’s regulated financial system.

The token is backed by a consortium led by IHC, Sirius International Holding and First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), framing it as an institutional instrument rather than a consumer crypto product. DDSC was first announced in April 2025, but regulatory clearance now allows deployment and integration across approved channels.

DDSC runs on ADI Chain, a Layer 2 blockchain built by the Abu Dhabi-based ADI Foundation. The infrastructure is designed for governance and performance requirements expected by large institutions, linking blockchain settlement with existing compliance and oversight frameworks.

The focus is practical, targeting treasury settlements, high-value payments, trade and supply-chain transactions, and programmable financial flows for regulated entities. FAB plans to offer access to the token through approved platforms for its clients, keeping the rollout inside controlled banking environments.

“DDSC marks a defining milestone in the UAE’s digital finance journey,” said Syed Basar Shueb, CEO of IHC. “With the Central Bank’s approval and our transition into live operation, we are delivering trusted, institutional-grade infrastructure that strengthens resilience, accelerates innovation, and expands what is possible in regulated digital payments”.

Also Read: Basatne Debuts ORBT Platform For Digital Refunds In UAE

FAB says the project reflects how stablecoins can sit within traditional finance when risk controls are built in from the outset. “This milestone underscores that stablecoins can be integrated responsibly into the financial system when built to meet rigorous regulatory and risk requirements,” said Futoon Hamdan AlMazrouei, Group Head of Personal, Business, Wealth and Privileged Client Banking Group at FAB.

The launch reinforces the UAE’s strategy of pushing digital finance through regulation instead of open-ended crypto experimentation. Stablecoins in this model are positioned less as trading assets and more as programmable extensions of national currency, aimed at institutional scale and government use cases.