On Sunday evening, the United Arab Emirates became the first Arab country ever to send a mission to another planet. The UAE successfully launched the Hope satellite to Mars on Sunday, aboard a rocket operated by the Japanese Space Agency (JAXA).
The satellite was launched to the red planet from the Tanegashima Space Center on Tanegashima Island in southern Japan at 11:58 pm (Dutch time). The UAE does not have its own launch vehicle, so it used a Japanese missile.
The mission was supposed to depart on Tuesday, but was postponed to Thursday and later Sunday due to bad weather conditions in Japan. If the launch is postponed again on Sunday, there is a risk that the UAE will have to wait until 2022 to attempt another launch.
Mars is in a good position relative to Earth in July 2020, and this only happens once every 26 months. The Hope satellite will reach the red planet in about seven months after a journey of about 500 million kilometers.
After arrival, the satellite must be operational for at least two years. The mission can be extended provided all goes well. Through the satellite, the UAE wants to explore the atmosphere of Mars, as well as the weather and climate on the celestial body.
The United Arab Emirates sends a satellite to Mars
The UAE will be the first of three countries to launch a mission to Mars this month
The UAE launch is the first of three missions to Mars taking place this month. China wants to make an attempt between July 20 and 25, and the United States wants to attempt to ascend to Mars from July 30.
While the UAE only wants to put a satellite into orbit around Mars, China wants to send a satellite and a lander to Mars. The United States wants to send a lander carrying both the Perseverance rover and an experimental helicopter.
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