United Arab Emirates launches historic first mission to Mars

           NEW Player In Space Voyage: UAE

The UAE's first mission to Mars is underway, after a successful lift-up in Japan. The Hope.

ABU DHABI: The United Arab Emirates' historic first mission to Mars is under way, after a successful lift-off in Japan. The Hope probe launched on an H2-A rocket from Tanegashima spaceport, and is now on a 500-million-km journey to study the planet's weather and climate. Two previous attempts to launch the probe in the past week had to be called off because of adverse weather. Hope's arrival in February 2021 is set to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the UAE's formation, the BBC reported on Sunday.

Her Excellency Sarah Al Amiri, the science lead on Hope, spoke of her excitement and relief in seeing the rocket climb successfully into the sky. And she stated the impact on her country would be the same as that on America when its people watched the Apollo 11 Moon landing 51 years ago, also on July 20. "It was an anchor for an entire generation that stimulated everyone that watched it to push further and to dream bigger," she told BBC News.