The Arab world’s first space mission to Mars has blasted off aboard a rocket from Japan , with its unmanned probe – called Al-Amal, or Hope on July 20, 2020.
H2A Rocket: H2A, the rocket carrying the Hope Probe to space, was launched from the Tanegashima Space Centre in Japan.
Hope Probe Spacecraft is expected to reach the Red Planet by February 2021, to coincide with UAE’s 50th anniversary of its formation.
It will not land on the planet, but instead orbit it for a whole Martian year, or 687 days.
It is designed to orbit Mars and provide the first-ever complete picture of Martian atmosphere.
MARS Missions
Mariner 4: Launched on November 28, 1964
Mariner 6 and 7: Launched on 1969 as the first dual mission to Mars that flew over its equator and south polar regions
Mariner 9 : Launched on May 30, 1971 as the first artificial satellite of Mars
Viking Project (Viking 1 and 2): Launched in 1975 and was the first mission to land a spacecraft safely on Mars
Mars Pathfinder : Launched on December 4, 1996 as the first robotic rover on Mars
Mars Global Surveyor: – Launched on November 7, 1996. Observed that Mars has weather pattern
2001 Mars Odyssey : Launched on April 7, 2001 and made the first global map of the composition of Martian surface
Mars Express : Launched on June 2, 2003 to search for sub-surface water from orbit
Mars Science Laboratory (Curiosity Rover):– Launched on November 26, 2011 to know right conditions to support life
Mangalyaan (Mars Orbiter Mission): Launched on November 5, 2013 by the ISRO to test its interplanetary tech capabilities
Maven : Launched on November 18, 2013 to understand the climate change on the Red Planet
ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter: – Launched in 2016 as the first in a series of joint missions between the European Space Agency and Russia’s Roscosmos.
InSight Lander, 2018:– Launched in May 2018 to study the core of Mars
Image credit: Gulf News