The United Arab Emirates has sent a probe on a seven-month adventure to Mars, marking the country’s first interplanetary mission.
The United Arab Emirates’ Hope investigation is expected to be introduced on Monday morning. Photo: Giuseppe Cacace / AFP Source: AFP
The United Arab Emirates has sent a probe on a seven-month adventure to Mars, marking the country’s first interplanetary mission.
The Hope spacecraft was sent to the area on an H-IIA rocket built via Mitsubishi from the center of the Japanese area in Tanegashima on Monday morning.
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The probe is one of 3 races to the red planet, and Chinese and American rockets also benefit from the proximity of Earth and Mars. Photo: Giuseppe Cacace / AFP Source: AFP
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The rocket took off before 8 a.m. on Monday morning (AEST) and the probe is expected to separate from the rocket and head for Mars after about an hour.
It is expected to succeed in the orbit of the Red Planet in February next year, where it will spend time tracking the environment and also celebrate the 50th anniversary of its founding in the United Arab Emirates.
The Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Center in Dubai is awaiting the launch of the Hope spacecraft. Photo: Giuseppe Cacace / AFP Source: AFP
The ambassador of the United Arab Emirates to the United States said the statement marked the beginning of new Emirati achievements in space.
“Years of painting and determination have paid off,” Al Otaiba said after the launch.
“It’s a wonderful achievement, but it’s just the beginning,” he added.
The probe “will help answer key questions about the global Martian environment and the loss of hydrogen and oxygen fuel in an area a Martian year,” the mission’s online page states.
Earth and Mars are lately closely aligned in their respective orbits, offering a small window to launch a project to the planet that arrives only every two years.
The spacecraft will still have about 55 million kilometers to succeed in orbit with Mars, and is competing with the U.S. and Chinese missions.
The project will be the first of the United Arab Emirates on the planet. Photo: Giuseppe Cacace / AFP Source: AFP
“It’s a very small goal,” Pete Withnell, program director at the University of Colorado, a mission spouse, said before launch.
“This is equivalent to an archer reaching a target of two millimetres, one kilometer, so it is not for sensitive souls.”