The United Arab Emirates celebrated Monday the launch of their first space mission to Mars with the takeoff of the Al-Amal probe, "Hope" in French, from Japan. The objective of the mission: to provide a complete picture of the climatic variations of the red planet. This unmanned probe will take seven months to travel the 493 million kilometers to Mars and will remain in orbit for a whole Martian year, or 687 days. This mission will also be a first step for the United Arab Emirates, whose ambition is to build a human colony on Mars by 2117. The mission is also seen as a way to inspire the youth and recall the golden age scientific advances from the Middle East to the Middle Ages.
VIDEO. The United Arab Emirates launched their first Mars probe
2020-07-20T22:14:31.507Z
The unmanned Al-Amal probe, "Hope" in French, took off from a Japanese base on Monday and is expected to arrive on Mars within seven months in order to
