DFA congratulates UAE for successful launch of Hope Probe to Mars

The Department of Foreign Affairs on Monday congratulated the United Arab Emirates for the successful launch of its Hope Probe on its way to Mars.

"From reaching for pearls in the deep ocean to reaching for the starry gems in the sky up high— Congratulations, UAE, for another historic milestone in its space probe launch! UAE’s Mars Hope Probe is a great achievement for Arab women in the sciences! Mabrouk!" the DFA said in a tweet.

After delays due to weather, the rocket bearing Hope Probe was launched from Tanegashima Space Centre in southern Japan on Monday morning.

The unmanned probe is known as “Al-Amal” in Arabic.

"We have launched the H-IIA Launch Vehicle No. 42 (H-IIA F42) carrying aboard the Emirates Mars Mission's (EMM) HOPE spacecraft... at 6:58:14 (JST) (2158GMT)," Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, the manufacturer of the rocket, said in a statement.

The Hope Probe is expected to reach Mars’ orbit by February 2021, which is the 50th anniversary of the unification of the UAE, an alliance of seven emirates, according to a report by Agence France-Presse.

It is expected to orbit around Mars for 687 days or a whole Martian year and provide a comprehensive image of the weather dynamics in Mars' atmosphere. 

Two other missions to Mars are ongoing: the Tianwen-1 from China and the Mars 2020 from the US. —KG, GMA News