Published 12:45 IST, July 17th 2020
UAE's historic Hope Mars Mission launch rescheduled again, check new dates here
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has rescheduled its historic Mars mission to a preliminary window between July 20 and July 22 due to unstable weather conditions.
- Science News
- 3 min read
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has rescheduled its historic mission to Mars to a preliminary window between July 20 and July 22. Shifting the dates of country’s first interplanetary mission for the second time, UAE Space Agency said that precise date will be revealed in due time but noted that the weather has played a ‘critical role’ in the postponing of the Hope Mars Mission. According to the statement released on July 16, the UAE Space Agency and The Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre said that the launch site on Tanegashima Island is witnessing continued thunderstorms, clouds and unstable weather conditions in the coming days.
The UAE’s Hope would be lifted off on Japan’s H-IIA rocket from the Tanegashima Space Center in southern Japan. The UAE Space Agency has been counting each day until its Mars orbiter named Amal or Hope Probe is launched into Mars orbit for at least two years and make the first-off global map of the planet’s climate across seasons. According to reports, the launch site director for Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Keiji Suzuki had previously said that the final decision would be made before the launch of the historic mission. However, a seasonal downpour in the region was expected to cause lightening over the span of the next few days that posed a threat of delay to the Hope Mars Mission since the beginning.
Mission took over six years to put in place
Sarah Al-Amiri, the woman incharge of UAE’s historic Hope Mars Mission has reportedly said that it took more than six years to put the mission in place. She also said that the work done over the years would now be ‘sitting on top’ of Japanese rocket to be sent away to a planet that lies millions of kilometres away from Earth. Further elaborating on the kind of satellite UAE is set to launch on July 16, the scientist said that it is a “weather satellite of Mars, it provides us a comprehensive understanding of weather throughout the times of the day, during different regions and at different seasons and that gives us the comprehensive view that we require”. The historic mission that millions across the world are eyed on has according to Sarah, opened “new opportunities” for everyone in the country.
Hope to reach Mars in February 2021
UAE’s Hope is set to reach the Red Planet in February 2021 which is also the year that the country would celebrate the 50 years of its formation. The first interplanetary mission from the country would mark the ‘history-defining moment’ for its oil-dependent economy that is now seeking a future in the outer space. Emirates Mars Mission Project Director Omran Sharaf noted that the mission is not similar to the ones lead by other countries, instead, it would be the first one to give a wholesome view of Mars’ atmosphere during various seasons. Meanwhile, the United States and China have also planned their mission to the Martian planet in the upcoming days.
Updated 12:44 IST, July 17th 2020