UAE’s Mars mission Hope Probe hits 100 mln km mark, expected to arrive February 2021

The UAE’s Hope Probe mission to Mars has traveled a fifth of its journey toward the Red Planet after crossing 100 million km in space and is expected to reach its destination in February 2021.

The announcement of crossing the milestone mark was made by Dubai Ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid on Monday one month since the probe made its historic lift off from Japan into space.

For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.

"The Hope Probe is officially 100 million km into its journey to the Red Planet. Mars, as demonstrated in the image captured by the Probe’s Star Tracker, is ahead of us, leaving Saturn and Jupiter behind. The Hope Probe is expected to arrive to Mars in February 2021," Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid said.

"In less than 170 days, we will celebrate the probe’s entry into the Red Planet’s orbit. It will be a path-breaking achievement in the history of global Mars missions," he added.

According to authorities, the Hope Probe has so far traveled 20 per cent of its 493-million-kilometer journey to Mars since its successful lift-off from Japan’s Tanegashima Space Center on July 20.

The probe is currently traveling at an estimated speed between 110,400 km/h to 122,400km/h. It is expected to automatically reduce its speed to 18,000 km/h as it gets closer to Mars.

Read more:

UAE’s Mars Mission completes first successful route guidance operation

UAE’s Hope Probe captures its first image of Mars 1 million km into space

Here are six facts about UAE’s Hope Mars Mission