MINAMITANE, Kagoshima -- The H-2A rocket No. 42 carrying the United Arab Emirates' (UAE) Hope Mars probe was launched at 6:58 a.m. on Monday from the Tanegashima Space Center. The probe successfully entered its projected orbit about 57 minutes later, according to launch operator Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.
This marks the fourth time an overseas probe or satellite has been launched on an H-2A rocket, a rocket series that has seen 36 consecutive successful launches -- a success rate of about 97.6%. MHI hopes to gain more overseas orders for H-2A rockets and the next-generation mainstay H-3 rocket, which the company hopes to launch for the first time in the second half of this fiscal year.
Hope, the UAE's first Mars probe, is expected to enter the planet's orbit after 7 months -- in Feb. 2021. The elliptical orbit is at an altitude of about 20,000 to 43,000 kilometers, and the probe is programmed to observe any dust, water vapor and oxygen in the atmosphere with infrared and ultraviolet rays, and take pictures of the planet using a high-resolution camera.
The United States and China are also scheduled to send probes to Mars this month. China plans to launch a rocket equipped with probes and a rover that will travel the planet's surface around May 23, while the U.S. has plans to send off a rocket on May 30.
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