the united arab emirates successfully
launched a probe to mars on monday
this marks the beginning of a
seven-month 208 million kilometer
journey
as well as the country's first steps
towards making significant
technological advancements kim loyan has
the details
the united arab emirates successfully
launched its mission to mars on monday
the spacecraft named amal meaning hope
in arabic
left japan's tanegashima space center at
7am local time
after being delayed twice due to bad
weather the launch marked a milestone in
the uae's advancement of science and
technology
in fact it is the first interplanetary
mission from an arab nation
the team on earth waited patiently for
about an hour until connection with the
spacecraft
was established but despite the success
the team said they still have a long way
to go
proud happy exhausted
scared i mean we're not done it's just
uh 30
after the launch you know you have a
journey to mars seven months journey
and and then you have the mars orbit
insertion a very critical
phase of the project when the spacecraft
eventually reaches mars in march 2021
the year the uae celebrates its 50th
anniversary as a sovereign state
the goal is to get a complete picture of
the atmosphere on mars
and for the first time ever provide
thorough details of the planet's daily
and seasonal changes the mission which
has cost around 200 million us dollars
according to the minister for advanced
sciences
of uae was first announced five years
ago
after which a space program was
established in 2017
to develop local expertise with the
intention of making advancements in
science and technology
and to reduce the reliance on oil
already the country has been able to
send its first astronaut to the
international space center for an
eight-day mission
there is also an aim to be able to
settle on mars by the year 2117
kim doyan news
