By :| Keywords : Japan-UAE-aerospace
French.china.org.cn| Updated on 20-07-2020-
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The Japanese company Mitsubishi Heavy Industries launched Monday a rocket transporting towards the planet Mars a probe developed by the United Arab Emirates.
At 6:58 a.m. local time (Sunday 21:58 p.m. GMT), the H2A launcher carrying the Hope probe took off from the Tanegashima space center in Kagoshima prefecture in southwest Japan.
The Hope, weighing 1.5 tonnes and measuring 2.9 meters long and 2.37 meters wide, was developed at the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center in Dubai. It is expected to reach orbit around Mars in 2021 to mark the 50th anniversary of the founding of the United Arab Emirates.
The launch was originally scheduled for last Wednesday, but has been postponed due to inclement weather.
It is the fourth time that the Japanese company has used the H2A rocket to launch a foreign satellite into space. In order to prevent the spread of COVID-19, officials from the city of Minamitane, where the launch platform is located, have closed areas normally reserved for the public.
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