DUBAI, UAE, October 14, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --
Scientists, writers and philosophers have long been fascinated by the prospect of life on the Red Planet. Vision explores what steps the UAE is taking to be first to put a foot on Mars. Vision.ae
(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20141014/710072 )
On a clear evening in Arizona in 1894, American astronomer Percival Lowell looked into his telescope. For the past few weeks, he'd been paying particular attention to Mars. As he waited for a still patch of air to pass in front of his lens, he saw a series of straight lines strafing across the surface of the Red Planet.
Over the next few weeks he observed the canal-like lines, and became convinced that they had been dug by a Martian civilisation, channelling water from the icy poles to the arid centre.
Lowell published books on his discovery, and hypothesised on what life was like on Mars. H.G. Wells, inspired by Lowell's work, wrote War of the Worlds, the story of superior Martians invading earth.
Later, more advanced telescopes revealed that Lowell's straight lines were an optical illusion caused by our atmosphere. Yet, Percival's (fictional) discovery of life on Mars kickstarted a fascination that has continued to beguile writers, scientists and philosophers to this day: is there life on Mars?
One country hoping to answer that question definitively is the UAE. In July this year, the president, His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan announced the UAE is planning to send an unmanned probe to the Red Planet by 2021.
"The UAE Mars probe represents the Islamic world's entry into space exploration," said Sheikh Khalifa. "We will prove that we are capable of delivering new scientific contributions to humanity."
At present, Dubai has 41 engineers working with South Korean satellite company, SatRec to develop its own indigenous range of satellites. At present, the European Space Agency (ESA), and on occasion, NASA regularly uses Russian rockets to get into orbit. The UAE on the other hand, hopes to be able to develop its own rockets and delivery systems to carry its probe to Mars.
For full article please click here: http://vision.ae/en/articles/life_on_mars
Contact: Xini Wei , +971-56-226-8265, [email protected]
SOURCE Vision Magazine
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