UAE Mars Hope Launch Delayed To Friday
Poor weather at Japan’s Tenegashima Space Center is prompting a delay of the United Arab Emirates’ Mars Mission to no earlier than July 17. Liftoff of the Emirates Mars Mission, also known as Hope, aboard a Mitsubishi Heavy Industries’ H-IIA rocket is now targeted for 4:43 p.m. EDT (5:43 a.m. July 18 local time). Launch had been planned for July 14, the opening of a three-week window when Earth and Mars are favorably aligned for interplanetary flight.