Arab world’s first mars expedition, the Hope probe has completed one-fifth of its journey. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, announced that the mission achieved this milestone one month after its historic lift-off from Japan.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid shared two images from the Hope Probe’s star-tracking camera and tweeted, “The Hope Probe is officially 100 million km into its journey to the Red Planet. Mars, as demonstrated in the image captured by the Probe’s Star Tracker, is ahead of us, leaving Saturn and Jupiter behind. The Hope Probe is expected to arrive to Mars in February 2021.”
“In less than 170 days, we will celebrate the probe’s entry into the Red Planet’s orbit. It will be a path-breaking achievement in the history of global Mars missions.”
He noted that “the Emirates Mars Mission will create a giant leap in the country’s space technologies and open new horizons towards other space missions.”
He added, “the next phase requires investments in science for the benefit of mankind. We need young people to lead us towards further scientific breakthroughs.”
The Hope Probe has so far travelled 20 percent of its 493 million kilometre journey to the Red Planet since its successful lift-off from Japan’s Tanegashima Space Center on July 20, 2020.
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