The first Arab space mission to Mars, an unmanned probe called "Hope", took off from Japan on Monday, in an attempt to reveal more about the Red Planet's atmosphere.
The Japanese rocket carrying the probe developed by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) took off from the Tanegashima Space Center in southern Japan at just the scheduled time at 6:58 am local time (2158 GMT Sunday).
The launch of the probe, known as "Al-Amal" in Arabic, had been delayed twice due to bad weather, but Monday's takeoff appeared to be smooth and successful.
Almost exactly an hour later, a live broadcast showed people clapping in the Japanese control room when the probe successfully went offline.
"The launch vehicle's trajectory was executed as planned and the separation of the Hope spacecraft confirmed," said rocket maker Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.
In Dubai, the launch met with enthusiastic excitement, with the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest skyscraper, lit up hours before takeoff with a symbolic 10-second countdown in anticipation.
"This mission is an important milestone for the UAE and the region," Yousuf Hamad AlShaibani, director of the UAE's Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center, said at a post-launch press conference in Japan.
"It has already inspired millions of young people in the region to dream big and work hard to achieve what seems impossible," he said.
On Twitter, the UAE government stated that the investigation launched a "message of pride, hope and peace for the Arab region, in which we renew the golden age of Arab and Islamic discoveries."
Several dozen probes, most of them American, have been targeting the Red Planet since the 1960s. Many never got that far, or were unable to land.
The drive to explore Mars marked until confirmation, less than 10 years ago, that water once flowed on its surface.
Omran Sharaf, project manager for the mission, said the Hope probe will offer a special perspective on the planet.
"The unique thing about this mission is that, for the first time, the scientific community around the world will have a holistic view of the Martian atmosphere at different times of the day at different seasons," Sharaf said in a pre-launch briefing.
Hope is expected to begin transmitting information to Earth in September 2021, with its data available for scientists around the world to study.
The UAE already has nine satellites operating in Earth orbit, and they have plans to launch another eight in the coming years. And in September, he sent the first Emirati into space on a mission to the International Space Station.
From NDTV News
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