The United Arab Emirates’ $200 million project to send a satellite into orbit around Mars is now a success. The UAE is the fifth body to reach Mars, after the US, Russia, the European Union, and India. Hope has taken seven months to reach its destination, arriving shortly ahead of rival missions from both China and the US.
It was launched last July from the Tanegashima Space Center in Japan, carried on the back of a Mitsubishi H-2A rocket. Its job is to study the global weather cycle, examining the formation of dust storms, and understanding why Mars is leaking hydrogen and oxygen.
Earlier this year, officials said that the probe needed to burn a significant amount of fuel to decelerate to the right speed, a process that would take up to half an hour. If it goes too fast, however, and the probe would overshoot altogether.
Last year Minister of Advanced Sciences, Sarah Al Amiri, said that space exploration is “the future of the UAE” as it looks to reinvent itself. The country is looking to remark its economy as a science and innovation hub as the world shifts away from fossil fuels.
TECH NEWS>>>>Uber And Walgreens Merge To Offer Free Rides To COVID Vaccine Appointments
