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The UAE’s Hope Probe successfully lifted off from Tanegashima Space Center July 20 at 6:58 a.m. Japan Standard Time (1:58am UAE time.)

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) said Monday the probe successfully launched into orbit as planned. The separation of the HOPE spacecraft from MHI’s H-IIA launch vehicle F42 was also confirmed around 57 minutes after liftoff.

We have lift-off. H2A, the rocket carrying the Hope Probe to space, has launched from the Tanegashima Space Centre in Japan.#HopeMarsMission pic.twitter.com/pRKZLOL7NT

— Hope Mars Mission (@HopeMarsMission) July 19, 2020

HOPE will be the first probe to provide a complete picture of the Martian atmosphere and its layers when it reaches Mars in 2021, according to MHI.

The launch of HOPE on the H-IIA rocket was the 45^th consecutive successful liftoff.

MHI’s Senior Vice President and Head of Integrated Defense and Space Systems Naohiko Abe said he appreciated the support and effort that came from the UAE’s Space Agency and MBRSC over the last four years.

“The Emirates Mars Mission targets to reach Mars in 2021 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the founding of the UAE and I am proud that we launched successfully as scheduled today,” he added. “I sincerely hope that the successful completion of the Mars mission by the spacecraft will bring hope and delight to people all around the world in the midst of this global crisis due to COVID-19.”

Dr Ahmad Belhoul Al Falasi, UAE Minister of State for Entrepreneurship and Small and Medium Enterprises and Chairman of the UAE Space Agency, also said the Emirati Mars Mission makes the UAE “the youngest nation to successfully launch a mission to Mars within six years of project commencement. The success of HOPE Probe is a huge leap forward for the UAE’s ambitious space programme.”

Chairman of Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre Hamad Obaid AlMansoori said the successful launch of the HOPE Spacecraft “is an outcome of seamless collaboration and tireless efforts by all the teams involved.”

The UAE Mars Mission marks the first Arab interplanetary mission in the region’s history.

The rocket carrying UAE’s Hope Probe blasts off from Japan's Tanegashima Space Center. pic.twitter.com/pKXkG4hkyl

— Dubai Media Office (@DXBMediaOffice) July 19, 2020

The Japanese and Emirati delegations held a bilateral meeting, less than an hour before the launch of the Hope Probe and watched lift off from the launch platform in Tanegashima. 

This year, all eyes are on the Emirates Mars Mission, an unmanned exploring probe named Hope due to be launched from the Tanegashima Space Centre on July 20 at 6:58 am Japan Standard Time (1:58am UAE time) said Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, the provider of the H-IIA rocket. However, coverage will start before that.

Since the UAE does not have a launch pad, the spacecraft was shipped to Japan in April. It was moved three weeks ahead of schedule, due to the increasing travel restrictions being imposed to combat the spread of COVID-19.

Following a journey of several months, the probe is scheduled to reach the planet by February, coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the UAE. 

When it reaches the red planet’s orbit, it will become the first probe to provide a complete picture of the Martian atmosphere and its layers. It will help answer fundamental questions about the global Martian atmosphere and the loss of hydrogen and oxygen gases into space over the span of one Martian year.

A successful Hope mission would be a major step for the oil-dependent economy seeking a future in space.