UAE airline passengers to get 'Martian ink' passport stamp on arrival

Ink for commemorative UAE stamp was extracted from the same type of volcanic rock found on the Red Planet's barren surface

An official shows an arriving passenger the special Mars ink stamp at Dubai airport. All pictures courtesy: UAE Government Media Office / Dubai Airports

The stamp will be given to all inbound passengers landing at Dubai's airports

It comes with a booklet about the Mars Mission, which began with the launch from Japan in July, 2020. After a seven month journey it is set to arrive in Martian orbit on February 9, 2021

A traveller with the passport stamp and booklet

Basalt rocks are found both on Mars and on certain parts of Earth, including the Emirati desert

One of those locations is the UAE's Hajar mountains and Sharjah’s Mleiha Desert

Experts tracked down samples of the rock to create the liquid to print the stamps

They were crushed into a fine paste and dried in the sun

They were mixed with chemicals to create three separate colours that represent the Red Planet.

They were mixed with chemicals to create three separate colours that represent the Red Planet.

The finished product can be used to dip onto the stamp press

The final version of the stamp with an inscription about the mission

Latest: History made as Hope probe successfully enters Mars orbit

Airline passengers arriving in UAE will receive a special stamp to mark the country's mission to Mars.

The ink for the stamp was created from the same type of volcanic rock found on the Red Planet's barren surface.

In the hours before the Hope space probe orbits Mars, Dubai Airports and the UAE Government Media Office released pictures of how the stamp was made.

Tuesday night's mission follows the successful blast-off from Japan in July and a seven-month, 493.5-million-kilometre journey through space.

Officials have stressed that the mission has a 50 per cent chance of success, but are hopeful that the country will make history.

Basalt rocks are found both on Mars and on Earth in certain parts of the world. One of those locations is the UAE's Hajar mountains and Sharjah’s Mleiha Desert.

To create the liquid to print the stamps, these rocks were crushed into a fine paste and dried in the sun.

They were mixed with chemicals to create three separate colours that represent the Red Planet.

Basalt rocks date back tens of millions of years and give the UAE’s mountain ranges their distinct rugged look.

If the Hope probe is successful, it will begin to capture and transmit the first photo of Mars within a week.

It will then commence its mission to build the first complete picture of the Martian atmosphere using its three advanced scientific instruments.

The tools will continue to relay data of the Red Planet’s atmosphere for one Martian year, equivalent to 687 Earth days.

Hope is a type of weather and climate satellite for Mars.

It will study how energy moves through the atmosphere throughout the seasons of the year.

It will further examine dust that influences the planet's temperature, and it will examine atoms of hydrogen and oxygen at the top of the atmosphere, which could give clues as to why Mars is now missing the water that it once had.

Hope is expected to collect more than 1,000GB of new data, which will be shared with more than 200 academic and scientific institutions around the world.

Hope probe to Mars - the journey so far