How UAE welcomed Emirati team that sent Mars probe to space

Officials greeted them at the VIP Terminal and congratulated them on the historic launch.

The Emirates Mars Mission team that sent Hope to space from Japan got a VIP welcome as they returned home, the Abu Dhabi Media Office tweeted on Friday. (Full coverage of Hope Mars Mission)
The Hope probe, the Arab world's first interplanetary mission, blasted off towards the Red Planet at 1.58am on July 20. A team of Emirati space scientists and officials worked around the clock at the launch site on Tanegashima Island in Japan to make sure Hope is in excellent condition for its 493-million-km journey to Mars.

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Now that the probe has made it to space, the ground control station in Dubai is undertaking 24-hour shifts to monitor its movement and guide it towards Mars.
The UAE's Hope probe delegation, including Emirati space scientists, landed on Friday evening on an Etihad flight from Japan's Haneda International Airport.
Representatives from Abu Dhabi Airports greeted them at the VIP Terminal and congratulated them on the historic launch.

Shareef Hashim Al Hashmi, CEO of Abu Dhabi Airports, said: "The successful development and launch of the Hope Probe is the result of our visionary leadership's commitment to empowering our talented youth, investing in aerospace technology, and realising the ambition of our nation's late Founding Father who recognised the transformational potential of the space and aviation industries."
Al Hashmi added: "Developing the UAE's aerospace sector, through investing in STEM education and the deployment of cutting-edge infrastructure, will have a transformative impact on our nation's economy and society - encouraging our transition to a knowledge-based economy in line with the objectives of Abu Dhabi Plan and UAE Centennial 2071."

• Abu Dhabi