Dubai

oi-Anbarasan Gnanamani

United Arab Emirates: The ‘Hope’ spacecraft has successfully completed a seven-month journey into orbit around Mars.

The US spacecraft Amal (Hope) launched the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries’ H-2A rocket on July 20, 2020 from the Thane Kashima space center in Japan.

Preliminary work on the project began in 2016 with Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President of the United States and Ruler of Dubai.

Lightning speed

The ‘Hope’ spacecraft was launched from the earth at a speed of 39,600 kilometers per hour. It was traveling at a speed of 1 lakh 26 thousand kilometers per hour.

204 days

Due to its proximity to Mars, its speed dropped to 18,000 kilometers per hour. It took 204 days to reach Mars from Earth.

7.30pm

The ‘Hope’ spacecraft reached the orbit of Mars at 7.30 last night. However, due to the long distance, the signal confirming this was received 12 minutes late at 7.42 pm on Earth.

Fifth country

When the first signal was received, the scientists and engineers clapped with tears of joy and exchanged greetings with each other. This makes the United Arab Emirates the fifth country to send a spacecraft to Mars.

We won

Commenting on this historic achievement, Sarah, the Minister of Technology in the United Arab Emirates, said, “We arrived on Mars. 7 years later, I feel like I have lost weight on my shoulders.”

Greetings Rain Emirate

The world, including the United States, India and China, praised the historic achievement. A special fireworks display was also held at Burj Khalifa.