[U: The Boss -- Super Bowl Speech, At Bottom] By Tuesday Night, If All Goes As Planned, The U.A.E. Should Be The First Nation From The Middle East To Achieve A Continuously-Stable Orbit, Around Mars...

This is, to be certain, "The Month of Mars" -- with three nations' missions arriving there, in seriatum order -- to take lots of Cecil Blount DeMille closeups. We will cover it all.

While both the missions from the US and China plan to gently set down landers on Barsoom, the UAE aims primarily to study the War God planet, from above. The University of Colorado's astrophysics department faculty was instrumental in helping the gulf state with the peaceful scientific and technical (a la "Hidden Figures") supprt and know-how, needed to reach this moment, as we earlier wrote -- this past Summer. Here's the latest, from Phys.org:

. . .The United Arab Emirates, China and the United States all launched projects to Mars last July, taking advantage of a period when the Earth and Mars are nearest.

If succesful, the wealthy Gulf state will become the fifth nation to ever reach Mars -- a venture timed to mark the 50th anniversary of the unification of the UAE -- with the China mission due to become the sixth, the following day. [Ed. Note: China plans to orbit for a few months, before attempting a landing -- while the US will arrive and land same day -- the 18^th.]

Landmarks across the UAE have been lit up in red at night, government accounts emblazoned with the #ArabstoMars hashtag, and on the big day Dubai's Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest tower, will be at the centre of a celebratory show.

"Hope", known as "Al-Amal" in Arabic, will orbit the planet for at least one Martian year, or 687 days. . . .

We are of course, grinning ear to ear -- even with windchills below minus 20 this morning -- the sun is. . . bright; so. . . off to the lake for some Cecil B. pictures. And. . . go Buffs.

नमस्ते

And. . . after Baby-T is held accountable, either in the Senate, or the courts of this land -- I agree, with the Brother Bruce: