FIRST ARAB SPACE PROBE SENT TO MARS

DUBAI: The United Arab Emirates celebrated in the early hours of Monday morning the launch of its “Hope” probe to Mars, the first interplanetary mission by an Arab nation. The blast-off of the unmanned spacecraft at 6:58am local time from Japan’s Tanegashima Space Centre was met with rapturous applause in the Emirates. It is expected to reach the Mars orbit by February 2021, marking the 50th anniversary of UAE’S unification.