UAE spacecraft 'Hope' blasts off in its first ever mission to Mars

The United Arab Emirates is all set to become an interplanetary country as it successfully launched the Arab world's first mission to Mars. On the early Monday morning 'Al Amal,' or 'Hope' probe took off from Tanegashima Space Centre in, Japan, at 06.58 local time (21.58 GMT) with an assist from a Mitsubishi rocket booster. The mission to the red planet will be a seven-month journey, where it will orbit and send back data about the Martian atmosphere.

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Launch delayed two times

The Arab world’s first mission to Mars was initially due to launch on 14 July. However, it was delayed twice due to bad weather. According to the minister for advanced sciences Sarah Amiri, the Emirates Mars Mission has cost $200m (£155.8m). The probe aims to provide a complete picture of the Martian atmosphere for the first time, studying daily and seasonal changes.

Emiratis and Dubai’s Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) worked with US educational institutions to develop and build the Hope Probe. After an hour of launch, the probe deployed solar panels to power its communication and other systems. The MBRSC space centre in Dubai will then oversee the spacecraft during its 494 million km journey at an average speed of 121,000 kmph.

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In the year 2014, the UAE first announced plans for the mission and launched a National Space Programme in 2017 to develop local expertise. The country accommodates a population of 9.4 million, out of which most people are foreign workers, which lacks the scientific and industrial base of the big space-faring nations. UAE has an ambitious plan for a Mars settlement by 2117. In September 2019 Hazza al-Mansouri became the first Emirati in space to fly to the International Space Station.

At the moment there are eight active missions exploring Mars; some orbit the planet and some have landed on its surface. China and the United States plan to send another by this year respectively.

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