spacetoday.net: H-2A launches UAE Mars orbiter mission

H-2A launches UAE Mars orbiter mission

Posted: Wed, Jul 22, 2020, 8:10 PM ET (0010 GMT)
H-2A launch of Hope Mars mission (MHI)

The United Arab Emirates' Hope spacecraft is on its way to Mars after a launch Sunday. An H-2A rocket lifted off from the Tanegashima Space Center in Japan at 5:58 pm EDT (2158 GMT) and released the Hope spacecraft nearly an hour later. The 1,350-kilogram spacecraft, built by the UAE in cooperation with several American universities, will go into orbit around Mars in February. Hope carries three instruments to study Martian weather and climate. Hope is the first of three Mars missions scheduled for launch this month, with China's Tianwen-1 mission expected to launch Thursday, followed by NASA's Mars 2020 mission next week.