MISSION DESIGN FOR THE EMIRATES MARS MISSION

The United Arab Emirates is launching the Emirates Mars Mission (EMM) to Mars in 2020 to explore the atmospheric dynamics of Mars on a global, diurnal, sub-seasonal scale. The mission design involves a Type I transfer to Mars, coordinated with many other simultaneous Mars missions, most of whom share the same network of ground tracking stations. The Mars Orbit Insertion places the EMM Observatory, Amal, into a very large, elliptical capture orbit. Three Transition to Science Maneuvers are optimized under uncertainty to transfer the spacecraft into a unique 20,000 km x 43,000 km, ideally shaped and oriented to achieve the EMM science objectives.