TOKYO: A Japanese rocket carrying the first Arab mission to Mars will blast into space on Monday, after being delayed by bad weather, the launch company said Friday.
The lift-off of the United Arab Emirates´ "Hope" probe, originally planned for Wednesday, is now set for 6:58am Monday (21:58 GMT Sunday) from Tanegashima Space Centre in southern Japan, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries said.
The UAE, made up of seven emirates, is set to be the first Arab nation to send a probe to Mars.
The probe is one of three racing to the Red Planet, with Chinese and US rockets also taking advantage of the Earth and Mars being unusually close: a mere hop of 55 million kilometres (34 million miles).
"Hope" -- "Al-Amal" in Arabic -- is expected to start orbiting Mars by February 2021, marking the 50th anniversary of the unification of the UAE.
Once there, it will loop the planet for a whole Martian year of 687 Earth days.
The goal is to provide a comprehensive image of weather dynamics in the Red Planet´s atmosphere.
Meta CEO will be taking the stand over a trial that will last at least eight weeks and kicks off on Monday
Poor fossil record has been found by new study as reason behind species' apparent rarity
Any account mimicking an individual or organization must start its name with terms like “fake” or “parody”
Critics accused feature of copying styles and raised concerns about exploitation of original art
Shaza Fatima says Chinese company has also applied for satellite internet licence in Pakistan
Feature to let users block ability to export entire chat history in addition to limiting media saving
