Al Jazeera – The United Arab Emirates launched its first mission to Mars on Monday – the Arab world’s first – as it strives to develop its scientific and technological capabilities and reduce its reliance on oil.
The Hope Probe blasted off from Japan’s Tanegashima Space Center at 6:58am Japanese time on Monday (21:58 GMT on Sunday) for a seven-month journey to the red planet, where it will orbit and send back data about the atmosphere.
The mission was initially due to launch on July 14, but was delayed by bad weather.
Just over an hour after launch, the probe deployed solar panels to power its systems and established radio communication with the mission on earth.
There are currently eight active missions exploring Mars; some orbit the planet and some have landed on its surface. China and the United States each plan to send another this year.
The Emirates Mars Mission has cost $200m, according to Minister for Advanced Sciences Sarah Amiri. It aims to provide a complete picture of the planet’s atmosphere for the first time, studying daily and seasonal changes.
The UAE first announced plans for the mission in 2014 and launched a National Space Programme in 2017 to develop local expertise. Its population of 9.4 million people, most of whom are foreign workers, lacks the scientific and industrial base of the big spacefaring nations.
It has an ambitious plan for a Mars settlement by 2117.
Hazza al-Mansouri became the first Emirati in space last September when he flew to the International Space Station.
Emiratis and Dubai’s Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) worked with US educational institutions to develop and build the Hope Probe.
The MBRSC space centre in Dubai will oversee the spacecraft during its 494 million km (307 million mile) journey at an average speed of 121,000kph.
