The United Arab Emirates successfully launched its first spacecraft on a mission to Mars.
The spacecraft named Amal, or Hope, blasted off from Japan on Sunday to begin a seven-month journey to the planet and is expected to arrive in February 2021. Its takeoff marked the country’s first mission to Mars, as well as the Arab world’s first interplanetary mission.
Once it reaches the Red Planet, the spacecraft will study the upper atmosphere and monitor climate change for at least two years. Its instruments will be able to track the planet’s weather from day to night on a global scale.
The United Arab Emirates previously sent the first Emirati astronaut to the International Space Station in 2019 and is expected to launch a mission to the Moon in 2022.
“It was great to see everything going according to schedule today,” astronomer Fred Watson said. “It looks like things are all on track. It’s a huge step in terms of space exploration to have a nation like the UAE taking that giant leap to send a spacecraft to Mars.”
“Being on route to a planet like Mars is an exceptional achievement,” he added.
Two other missions to Mars are set to take off in the coming weeks by China and the United States.
