UAE successfully launches Hope probe

UAE successfully launches Hope probe

Web Report

The UAE's Hope probe is "healthy and successfully cruising towards Mars“, a top official has said. Omran Sharaf, Project Manager, Emirates Mars Mission, said: "We received the first signal from the spacecraft around 3.10am. This signal was very important for us because it symbolises the start of our journey towards Mars.“

The official was addressing the first press conference as Hope reached its space orbit in just over an hour after it took off from Japan's Tanegashima Space Centre in the early hours of Monday.

In under an hour after take-off, the spacecraft separated from its launch vehicle. Its solar panels were deployed so as to charge the probe's batteries. Soon after, it transmitted its first signal.

The official added that the team is continuously receiving signals from the spacecraft.

"The team is operating on a 24/7 basis now. For two weeks, we are going to have a 24-hour monitoring of the spacecraft. (It all) depends on how quickly we can get through the initial testing and other phases.

"If we finish it earlier, say for instance within a week with a 24/7 approach, then after two weeks, we will switch to three or two contacts per week.“

The Arab world's first interplanetary mission is