Dubai - The last outer body piece of the probe, called Hope, was brought to the UAE this week.
Published: Mon 6 Jan 2020, 10:42 PM
A team of 150 Emirati engineers, researchers and scientists are giving final touches to UAE's Mars probe at the University of Colorado, Boulder, as the spacecraft nears completion.
The last outer body piece of the probe, called Hope, was brought to the UAE this week so the country's leaders could sign it before it is sent back to the university in the US.
After completion, the spacecraft will be brought to Dubai and then will be shipped to the Tanegashima island, Japan, in July for the launch. The historic launch will take place sometime between July 14 and August 3 from Tanegashima Space Centre.
Khaleej Times visited the Tanegashima Space Centre last month, where preparations are in full swing to successfully launch Hope into space using Japan's HII-A rocket.
"We are launching UAE's Mars Probe from the centre. The vision to go to Mars is fantastic and I'm very impressed by that. We also have an orbiter called 'Hope' in space," Michio Kawakami, the director of the space centre, told KT. "That is the name of the Japanese Experiment Module, called Kibo, which means hope in Japanese. I wish the Emirates Mars Mission great success and we will do our best for the success of its launch."
sarwat@khaleejtimes.com
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